Hospital bed use by stroke patients: the Auckland stroke study

This paper examines the use of hospital beds by stroke patients utilising data from a study of a 50% sample of stroke events which occurred in Auckland in a one-year period during 1981-82. Two-thirds of all stroke patients registered in the study were admitted to a public hospital. Patients less than 65 years were twice as likely to be admitted than those over the age of 65 and men were 60% more likely to be admitted than women. Two-thirds died or were discharged within the first month. The average length of stay during the first six months was 38 days (median 21 days) and was influenced by the severity of the motor deficit but not by age or sex. Extrapolation from the study to the total Auckland population indicates that 46 acute and 67 geriatric beds respectively were occupied daily in 1981-82 by stroke patients. This represented 2% and 15% of all acute and geriatric beds respectively in the general public hospitals and suggests that the use of public hospital beds by acute stroke patients is relatively low.