Distribution and frequency of sociodemographic characteristics of surgical patients with prolonged stay in a second-level hospital

Abstract

Background: Prolonged hospital stay in surgical patients affects care quality and healthcare costs. Sociodemographic variables have been underexplored as associated factors.

Objective: To describe sociodemographic characteristics of surgical patients with prolonged hospital stay at General Hospital Zone No. 3, OOAD Aguascalientes.

Material and methods: An observational, descriptive, cross-sectional, and prospective study was conducted. A total of 215 patients with a stay of ≥9 days were analyzed. The variables evaluated using descriptive statistics were age, hospital stay, MOS score, sex, marital status, education, socioeconomic status, and comorbidities.

Results: The mean hospital stay was 12.5 ± 6.6 days; 81.9% were ≤15 days. The majority were from general surgery (59.5%), followed by angiology (13.0%) and urology (12.6%). The most frequent diagnoses were biliary (27.0%), abdominal wall (26.0%), and vascular (19.1%) pathologies. The main comorbidities were hypertension (61.4%) and diabetes mellitus (52.1%). The mean age was 58.1±16.6 years, with a predominance of males (54.9%), married (62.3%), and low socioeconomic status (57.7%). The predominant education levels were primary (36.7%) and secondary (33.0%). 46.5% were unemployed, 87.0% reported average social support, and 12.6% lacked caregivers.

Conclusions: Patients with prolonged stay mainly present biliary and abdominal wall pathologies, high prevalence of cardiovascular-metabolic comorbidities, low socioeconomic conditions and family support limitations, evidencing the need to consider sociodemographic factors in discharge planning.

Keywords: prolonged hospital stay, sociodemographic characteristics, general surgery, risk factors, social support.

Recibido: 25/09/2025

Aprobado: 28/05/2026