[Demographic and clinical correlates of length of stay in a Nigerian university hospital psychiatric unit].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the clinical and demographic correlates of prolonged hospital stays in a cohort of Nigerian psychiatric in-patients. METHODS The investigation covered a 5 year period of psychiatric inpatient admissions at a Nigerian general hospital psychiatric and the records of 584 admitted and discharged patients that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were analyzed. Data were collected on demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with length of hospital stay. RESULTS Mean length of stay (LOS) was 25 +/- 23 days. Only the clinical variables of a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia (P=0.0001), having received ECT (P=0.0001), and a history of previous hospitalization for psychiatric illness (P=0.034) significantly predicted prolonged LOS. CONCLUSION As cost considerations are very important in this time of evidence-based practice there is a need for clinicians to modify their practice and be aware of the patient-related variables that affect LOS when managing their clients.