Association between FDG-PET/CT imaging and length of hospital stay in an academic medical center.

519 Objectives: The aim of this retrospective study was to characterize the inpatient population undergoing non-cardiac F-18 FDG-PET/CT (PET) at an academic medical center and the impact of PET on hospital length of stay. Methods: We reviewed the clinical records of 100 consecutive patients (50 women; mean age 59.5 years) undergoing PET during inpatient hospitalization between 7/3/2017 and 10/11/2017. Exams were categorized by indication: Initial Treatment Strategy for biopsy proven pathology (ITSBP), Initial Treatment Strategy for suspected pathology without biopsy (ITSSP), Subsequent Treatment Strategy for biopsy proven malignancy (STSBM), and evaluation for suspected infectious/inflammatory pathology (EIIP). Time from hospital admission to PET and total length of stay (LOS) were collected. Results: The mean LOS of the entire population (n=100) was 15.2 days, standard error (SE): 1.5 days; range: 2-83 days. There was no correlation between age and LOS. There was trend to shorter LOS in women (P=0.06). Although there was no statistically significant difference in LOS among subgroups, the LOS was shorter for ITSSP patients (n=39; mean 14.2; SE: 2.1; range: 2-72) and STSBM patients (n=32; mean 12.4; SE: 2.1; range: 2-45), slightly longer for EIIP patients (n=15; mean 17.7; SE: 4.0; range: 2-58), with the longest LOS observed in ITSBP patients (n=14; mean 21.5; SE: 6.3; range: 3-83). There was a significant correlation between time from admission to acquisition of the PET scan and the total LOS (r=0.71; P