Abstract
BACKGROUND: This study aimed to identify the predictive factors for prolonged length of stay (LOS) in elderly type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients suffering from cerebral infarction (CI) and construct a predictive model to effectively utilize hospital resources. METHODS: Clinical data were retrospectively collected from T2DM patients suffering from CI aged ≥65 years who were admitted to five tertiary hospitals in Southwest China. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression model and multivariable logistic regression analysis were conducted to identify the independent predictors of prolonged LOS. A nomogram was constructed to visualize the model. The discrimination, calibration, and clinical practicality of the model were evaluated according to the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), calibration curve, decision curve analysis (DCA), and clinical impact curve (CIC). RESULTS: A total of 13,361 patients were included, comprising 6,023, 2,582, and 4,756 patients in the training, internal validation, and external validation sets, respectively. The results revealed that the ACCI score, OP, PI, analgesics use, antibiotics use, psychotropic drug use, insurance type, and ALB were independent predictors for prolonged LOS. The eight-predictor LASSO logistic regression displayed high prediction ability, with an AUROC of 0.725 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.710-0.739), a sensitivity of 0.662 (95% CI: 0.639-0.686), and a specificity of 0.675 (95% CI: 0.661-0.689). The calibration curve (bootstraps = 1,000) showed good calibration. In addition, the DCA and CIC also indicated good clinical practicality. An operation interface on a web page (https://xxmyyz.shinyapps.io/prolonged_los1/) was also established to facilitate clinical use. CONCLUSION: The developed model can predict the risk of prolonged LOS in elderly T2DM patients diagnosed with CI, enabling clinicians to optimize bed management.