Prolonged length of stay and associated factors among emergency department patients in Ethiopia: systematic review and meta-analysis

Prolonged length of stay and associated factors among emergency department patients in Ethiopia: systematic review and meta-analysis

The duration between a patient’s arrival at the Emergency Department (ED) and their actual departure, known as the Emergency Department Length of Stay (EDLOS), can have significant implications for a patient’s health. In Ethiopia, various studies have investigated EDLOS, but a comprehensive nationwide pooled prevalence of prolonged EDLOS, which varies across different locations, is currently lacking. Therefore, the objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to provide nationally representative pooled prevalence of prolonged EDLOS and identify associated factors.

We have identified eight articles that met our inclusion criteria with a total sample size of 8,612 participants. The findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis indicate that the pooled estimate for the prevalence of prolonged EDLOS is 63.67% (95% CI = 45.18, 82.16, I2 = 99.56%, P = 0.0001). The study identified several significant factors associated with prolonged EDLOS, including patients admitted to overcrowded emergency departments (OR = 5.25, 95% CI = 1.77, 15.58), delays in receiving laboratory findings (OR = 3.12, 95% CI = 2.16, 4.49), and delays in receiving radiological results (OR = 3.00, 95% CI = 2.16, 4.16).

Temesgen Ayenew, Mihretie Gedfew, Mamaru Getie Fetene, Animut Takele Telayneh, Fentahun Adane, Baye Tsegaye Amlak, Belayneh Shetie Workneh & Mengistu Abebe Messelu

https://bmcemergmed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12873-024-01131-6

BMC Emergency Medicine

13 november 2024

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