Factors affecting length of hospitalization post-coronary artery bypass grafting surgery: A modified delphi consensus study

Length of hospitalization post coronary artery bypass grafting is a critical marker for the post-operative recovery and quality of life of the individual along with healthcare resource utilization but it varies significantly across individuals and depends on numerous factors. The existing predictive models that are developed have a variety of factors that predict the length of hospitalization but no universally accepted fixed set of variables exist currently. The study aimed to establish a consensus among the variables that should be included in the development of a predictive model for length of hospitalization post coronary artery bypass grafting surgery where the expert panel comprised of cardiothoracic surgeons, cardiologists, physiotherapists and nursing professionals answered multiple questions related to factors that can affect the recovery of an individual. Consensus was predefined as more than 75% agreement among the experts. Strong consensus was achieved after one round for inclusion of preoperative co-morbidities, pre operative cardiac functions and experts concluded that patient reported outcomes also act as predictors for recovery of an individual and should be included in the predictive model. This consensus study provides a strong foundation for developing a clinically relevant, patient-centred predictive model to assist in predicting the hospitalization duration, improve the recovery of the individual along with optimum hospital resource allocation.