Lahn Straney, Archie Clements, Jan Alexander, Anthony Slater,
To quantify between‐unit variability in mean length of stay (LoS) between intensive care units (s) after adjusting for differences in case mix using a method that does not require arbitrary trimming of data.
An analysis of registry data from pediatric s (s) in ustralia and ew ealand.
The relationships between patient LoS and associated patient factors were modeled as a log‐linear function of the covariates using two gamma distributions. The predicted distribution is estimated as a weighted average of the two distributions where the relative weighting is conditional on the patient's elective status.
Data for 12,763 admissions submitted to the ustralian and ew ealand aediatric ntensive are egistry from the eight dedicated s in ustralia and ew ealand in 2007 and 2008.
The two distributions of the mixture model accurately described the distribution of short‐ and long‐stay patients in . After adjusting for patient case mix, several sites had a statistically significant effect on patient LoS.
The two‐compartment model characterizes LoS for short‐ and long‐stay patients more effectively than a single‐compartment model. There is significant site‐level variation in the LoS among children admitted to in ustralia and ew ealand. Differences in the site‐level variation between short‐ and long‐stay patients indicate differences in discharge practice.
