Hospital morbidity of injured motorcyclists: factors associated with length of stay

Abstract

Objective: Identify factors of injured motorcyclists associated with hospital length of stay. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study of motorcyclists with acute traumatic injury admitted to three reference trauma hospitals in Sao Paulo. Medical records of patients and necropsy reports were analyzed to extract variables that could be associated with length of stay, followed by an analysis by multiple linear regression to verify associated factors. Results: One analysis of 91 motorcyclists showed that the following were associated with long length of stay (p<0.05): increased severity of trauma and infectious complications, pressure ulcers, rhabdomyolysis, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Pressure ulcers and surgical site infections were predictors of long length of stay and death was a predictor of reduced length of stay. Conclusion: The factors associated with length of stay resulted from both traumatic injury and the care provided to injured motorcyclists.