[Appropriateness of admissions and duration of stay in an ear, nose and throat department].

An evaluation was made of the appropriateness of hospital admissions in the ear, nose, and throat surgery department of a teaching hospital. One hundred fifty-two clinical histories were studied. Elective surgery admissions were reviewed using the new Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol (AEP) for elective surgery. Non-elective admissions and the duration of the hospital stay were reviewed with the adult medical-surgical AEP. In the patients who underwent elective surgery, admission was inappropriate in 6.2% (95% confidence interval: 2.9-12.2%). Name of the non-elective admissions (95% confidence interval: 0-17.8%) was inappropriate. Nineteen per cent of hospital days were inactive (95% confidence interval: 13.3-26.4%).