Crisis versus extended care: bimodal distribution of length of stay in psychiatric inpatients.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The length of stay (LoS) in psychiatric facilities is a critical metric for healthcare planning and resource allocation. While previous research has established that LoS distributions are typically right-skewed across medical specialties, detailed characterizations of these distributions within psychiatric settings remain limited, particularly regarding variations across diagnostic categories.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of 17,687 psychiatric hospitalizations at the University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich between 2013 and 2020. Using both linear and logarithmic visualizations, we examined LoS distribution patterns across diagnostic groups based on ICD-10 classifications.

Results

Following identified distribution patterns,

SUBMITTER: Hofmann AB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12273316 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature