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Div. of Media Relations
1600 Clifton Road
MS D-14
Atlanta, GA 30333
(404) 639-3286
Fax (404) 639-7394 |
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Press Release
For Immediate Release
April 9, 2003
Contact: CDC/NCHS Press Office
(301) 458-4800
New Report Shows Current Patterns of
Hospitalization in the US
Hospital Stays Much Shorter Now than 30 Years Ago
The 32.7 million patients in the nation's hospitals in 2001 had a much
shorter stay on average (4.9 days) than patients hospitalized in 1970 (7.8
days). Over the past three decades, the average length of a hospital stay
dropped for all patients, except children, with the most dramatic decrease
experienced by elderly patients whose hospital stay in 2001 (5.8 days) was
less than half of what it had been in 1970 (12.6 days).
In 2001, most inpatients stayed in the hospital for three days or less, 27
percent stayed for 4 to 7 days, and only 16 percent stayed longer than a
week, according to a new report, “2001 National Hospital Discharge
Survey,” from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The annual
hospital survey collects national data on discharges from non-Federal
short-stay hospitals in the United States.
In 2001, as in earlier years, the most frequent reason for hospitalization
was heart disease, accounting for 4.3 million discharges. While the rate
of hospitalization for most conditions has decreased over the past two
decades, one condition—congestive heart failure—increased by 62
percent for those 65 and over from 1980 to 2001. This increase reflects
the success through drugs and surgery in treating more acute forms of
heart disease, such as heart attacks, thus extending the life of many
elderly people and making it more likely they will develop a chronic heart
problem like congestive heart failure.
Elderly patients made up over 38 percent of the discharges, and used 46
percent of all inpatient days, even though they comprised only 12 percent
of the population.
Cardiovascular conditions were associated with a significant portion of
the 41 million procedures performed on hospital inpatients in 2001. For
men, one-fifth of all procedures were cardiovascular; for women, only 10
percent were cardiovascular. Hospitals performed a million procedures to
remove coronary artery obstructions and insert stents, 1.2 million cardiac
catheterizations and almost 2 million arteriography and angiocardiography
procedures. Just over 300,000 inpatients had coronary artery bypass graft
procedures.
Other major reasons for hospitalization were psychoses (1.6 million
discharges), pneumonia (1.3 million), cancer (1.2 million), and fractures
(1 million). Nearly one-fifth of the hospitalizations for women, 3.8
million, were for childbirth. About a quarter of the 25 million procedures
women experienced were obstetrical.
The National Hospital Discharge Survey is conducted by CDC's National
Center for Health Statistics and provides the most up-to-date information
on hospitalization in the US. This report can be found on the CDC/NCHS web
site at www.cdc.gov.
# # #
CDC protects people's health and safety by preventing and
controlling diseases and injuries; enhances health decisions by providing
credible information on critical health issues; and promotes healthy
living through strong partnerships with local, national, and international
organizations.
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