Abstract WP194: Low Hospice Utilization and Wide Variation in Length of Stay Among Patients with Intracerebral Hemorrhage at a Comprehensive Stroke Center

Introduction: Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a cause of high mortality with scope for targeted utilization of hospice and palliative care services. This study investigates patient characteristics and outcomes of discharge disposition and length of stay (LOS) in the context of clinical severity as described by ICH score. Methods: Patients presenting to a comprehensive stroke center from 2019 to 2023 with discharge diagnosis of ICH and documented ICH score were included. Retrospective data was extracted from the institution’s research data warehouse and analysis conducted using R version 3.5.1 for Windows. Statistical tests used were the Kruskal-Wallis test to compare LOS, defined as the difference between hospital arrival and discharge times, and Fisher’s exact test for counts. Results: A total of 703 patients were included. The number of patients with each ICH score and demographics are described in Table 1, with risk factors and treatment settings in Table 2. Mortality was 15.4% (n=108), 27.9% (196) discharged to home, 46.2% (325) other (skilled nursing or rehabilitation) facility, 7.3% (51) hospice facility, 1.6% (11) home hospice, 1% (7) acute care, and 0.7% (5) left against medical advice (AMA) or disposition was unclear. Mean LOS was 9.9 days overall and for each disposition as follows, statistically different per Kruskal-Wallis test (p