The length of stay and inpatient burden in inpatients with different psoriasis subtypes

Background: Heavy disease burden of psoriasis has been indicated by previous studies. However, the cost of care and length of stay (LOS) in inpatients with different psoriasis subtypes were rarely addressed. This study aimed to investigate the cost of care and LOS in Chinese patients with different psoriasis types and to clarify the independent factors affecting LOS. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study by enrolling patients with psoriasis who were hospitalized between 13 Feb 2017 and 29 Mar 2021. Demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients were collected by reviewing their Electronic Medical Records. Multivariate linear regression was used to estimate the associations with adjustments. Results: A total of 310 adult patients with psoriasis were included (mean cost of care: 13.0±22.3 kCNY; mean LOS: 7.9±4.3 days). Statistically significant differences were found among patients with different psoriasis subtypes in LOS (P<0.001) but not in the cost of care (P=0.530). Relative to psoriasis vulgaris, pustular psoriasis (Adjusted coefficient: 2.37, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.87-3.87) and erythrodermic psoriasis (Adjusted coefficient: 2.92, 95%CI: 1.38-4.47) were significantly associated with an increased LOS. Meanwhile, respiratory tract infections (Adjusted coefficient: 1.60, 95%CI: 0.11-3.10) also significantly increased the LOS. On the contrary, a decreased LOS was found in psoriatic arthritis patients treated with TNF-alpha inhibitors (Adjusted coefficient: -2.21, 95%CI: -4.37 to -0.05). Conclusions: LOS differed significantly among different psoriasis subtypes while the inpatient burden for a single hospitalization was alike. Infection is an important factor associated with a longer LOS. TNF-alpha inhibitors evidently reduced the total hospital stay period for patients with psoriatic arthritis.