Introduction:

Prolonged hospital stay is the time in days of hospitalization additional to that estimated according to the statistical parameters of each institution. It depends on multiple factors and may vary with the study time.

Objectives:

To describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of adult patients with prolonged hospital stay admitted to a referral hospital in Asunción, Paraguay, in 2024.

Methodology:

An observational, descriptive, cross-sectional design was applied including men and women, over 18 years of age, with a stay of more than 10 days in the Clinical Medicine service from March to October 2024. Data were extracted at discharge. Demographic and clinical variables and causes of prolonged stay were measured. Descriptive statistics were applied. The project was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Universidad Privada del Este, Asunción.

Results:

Sixty-seven subjects entered the study: 43 males with a mean age of 70 ± 17 years and 23 females with a mean age of 65 ± 15 years. The median length of stay was 14 days (interquartile range 11 - 22 days). Stroke was the most frequent admission diagnosis (22.39%). Arterial hypertension was the prevalent comorbidity (91.04%). Many patients had various causes of prolonged stay. The most frequent were poor clinical condition (97.01%) and the need for prolonged treatment (88.06%). Mortality was observed in 3 cases (4.48%).

Conclusion:

The most frequent causes of prolonged stay in the Clinical Medical service were conditions inherent to the clinical condition of the patients. These conditions could affect the administrative aspects of hospital management.

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