Length of stay and its associated factors among adult patients who visit Emergency Department of University Hospital, Eastern Ethiopia

OBJECTIVES: This study was aimed to assess the length of stay and its associated factors among adult patients who visited Emergency Department of Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital, Eastern Ethiopia. METHOD: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 adult patients who visit the Emergency Department. Systematic random sampling technique and an interviewer-administered data collection method was used. Data analyses were done using STATA version 16. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to control the potential confounders. The analysis outputs were presented using an odds ratio with a corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI). Independent variables were defined as statistically significant at p-values <0.05 in the final model. RESULT: A total of 169 [42.25% (95% CI: 37.5%−47.0%)] patients stayed longer than 24 h in the Emergency Department. We identified factors significantly associated with length of stay in ED include: patients treated at orange triage type (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.267; 95% CI: 0.13–0.53), laboratory request (AOR: 3.05; 95% CI: 1.49–6.23), radiological requests (AOR: 1.80; 95% CI: 1.05–3.07), and diagnosed with medical condition (AOR: 2.27; 95% CI: 1.21–4.26). CONCLUSION: A significant number of patients stay longer in the Emergency Department. Evaluation of the clinical diagnosis, diagnostic investigations, and organizational factors is essential to reduce the length of stay in the Emergency Department.