Assessment of the Life Skills Profile and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale as predictors of the length of psychiatric hospitalization

Introduction. Length of hospital stay is generally used as an indirect indicator of effectiveness and efficiency of treatment programs, but it is uncommon that other factors related with hospital stay are also contemplated. The aims of this study are to analyse the relationship between illness severity and adaptative behavior and to assess the predictive power of both constructs on the length of hospital stay. Methods. Multicenter prospective study (n = 132). The outcome variable is the length of hospital stay cut off at 90 days. The illness severity (BPRS) and the adaptative behavior (LSP) of psychiatric patients are explanatory variables. Results. After adjusting for age, gender and psychiatric diagnosis, negative symptoms (OR = 2.3; 95%CI = 1.3 - 4.1), self-competence (OR = 0.85; 95% CI = 0.78 - 0.93), and the total LSP score (OR = 0.96; 95% CI = 0.93 - 0.98), were significantly associated to the length of hospital stay. These three variables shared a similar predictive power (x2 = 1.9 on 2 d.f.; P = 0.4). Conclusion. Deficits in adaptative behaviour are as relevant as negative symptoms to explain the length of hospital stay. Both assessment domains should be included in the administrative information at discharge.