SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-Physical Restraint Use Among Hospitalized Dementia Patients With Behavioral Disturbances

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This study examined physical restraint use among hospitalized patients with dementia and behavioral disturbances using the U.S. National Inpatient Sample from 2016–2020. Among 991,605 hospitalizations, 64,390 (6.5%) involved physical restraints.<br /><br />Patients who were restrained were slightly younger on average, less often female, and more likely to be Black, Medicaid-insured, and treated in urban hospitals. These differences suggest possible disparities in restraint use by race, sex, insurance status, and hospital location.<br /><br />After adjusting for patient and hospital factors, physical restraint use was associated with worse in-hospital outcomes. Restrained patients had a longer average length of stay by 2.8 days and higher hospital charges by about $16,783 per case. They also had higher in-hospital mortality (5.3% vs 4.0%; adjusted OR 1.2) and were less likely to be discharged home (12.9% vs 17.1%; adjusted OR 0.68).<br /><br />Overall, the findings indicate that physical restraints in hospitalized patients with dementia and behavioral disturbances are linked to greater resource use and poorer outcomes. The study highlights the need for safer, less restrictive approaches to managing behavioral disturbances in this vulnerable population.

Asset Subtitle

Amteshwar Singh

Meta Tag

Author List Amteshwar Singh, Che M. Harris, Ishaan Gupta, Scott M. Wright

Category Research

Concept Physical Restraint

Concept Hospital Outcome

Concept Length of Stay

Concept Mortality

Concept Dementia

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Presenting Author Amteshwar Singh

Track Patient Safety

Keywords

physical restraint

dementia

behavioral disturbances

hospitalized patients

National Inpatient Sample

in-hospital mortality

length of stay

hospital charges

health disparities

discharge disposition

Physical Restraint

Hospital Outcome

Length of Stay

Mortality

Dementia