Association between abciximab and length of stay in intensive care for patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. A 2-stage econometric model in a naturalistic setting

To examine the effect of abciximab treatment on intensive care length of stay for patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). A retrospective study conducted in a naturalistic setting. A 2-stage econometric model was used to control for the influence of possible selection bias across categories of patients and for both observable and unobservable factors correlated with each patient's treatment selection and length of stay in intensive care. Multivariate analysis was applied to control for a wide range of factors (patient demographics, insurance provider, health conditions, admission and discharge information, and hospital characteristics) that may influence intensive care length of stay. Retrospective data were obtained from HCIA's Clinical Pathways Database. Patients (n = 13,364) who were hospitalised in any of 87 hospitals across the US over the period from October 1, 1995 to December 1, 1996. After controlling for high-risk indications and selection bias, results indicated that administration of abciximab was associated with a significantly shorter length of stay in intensive care compared with not administering a GPIIb/IIIa inhibitor (0.45 fewer days; p < or = 0.0001). In a subgroup analysis of patients having an acute myocardial infarction (n = 4793), administration of abciximab was also associated with a significantly shorter intensive care stay (0.27 fewer days; p < 0.0001). Results of this study indicate that the administration of abciximab is associated with a reduction in the length of stay in intensive care. This reduction implies potential cost offsets for patients undergoing PCI who receive abciximab.