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.
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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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