The disposition home for morbidly obese patients appears to take significantly longer than that of people who are normal weight or mildly obese, according to a comparison of ED medical records for the two patient groups. Those with BMIs greater than 40 kg/m2 had an average length of stay of 388 minutes, compared with 287 minutes for those with a BMI less than 35 kg/m2. When compared with others, morbidly obese patients were also significantly more likely to undergo CT scans.
Abstract: American Journal of Emergency Medicine, June 2012.
