The study included data from 107,018 patients 65 years or older undergoing elective PCI procedures from Nov. 2004-Dec. 2008. Patients were divided into two groups based on their length of stay after PCI: same-day discharge or overnight stay. The primary outcomes measured were rehospitalization or death occurring within two days and by 30 days after the procedure.
Researchers found no significant differences in mortality or rehospitalization at two days or at 30 days between same-day discharge or overnight patients. Among patients with adverse outcomes, the midpoint time to death or rehospitalization also did not differ significantly between the groups (same-day discharge, 13 days vs. overnight stay, 14 days).
The researchers note that despite the safety of same-day discharge for selected patients, this approach is rarely practiced and “may reflect reluctance on the part of clinicians to discharge patients the same day as the PCI procedure because of concerns over early post-PCI complications.”
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