Length of Hospital Stay and Postdischarge Mortality in Patients With Pulmonary Embolism

was 3.3%. In multivariate analysis, patients from Philadelphia were less likely to be discharged on a given day (oddsratio[OR],0.82;95%confidenceinterval[CI],0.730.93), as were black patients (OR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.820.94). The odds of discharge decreased notably with greater patient severity of illness and in patients withoutprivatehealthinsurance.Adjustedpostdischargemortality was significantly higher for patients with an LOS of 4 days or less (OR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.21-2.00) relative to those with an LOS of 5 to 6 days. Conclusions: Several hospital and patient factors were independently associated with LOS. Patients with a very short LOS had greater postdischarge mortality relative to patients with a typical LOS, suggesting that physiciansmayinappropriatelyselectpatientswithPEforearly discharge who are at increased risk of complications.