ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE:

To develop and validate a predictive model utilizing machine-learning techniques for estimating the length of hospital stay among patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting.

METHODS:

Three machine learning models (random forest, extreme gradient boosting and neural networks) and three traditional regression models (Poisson regression, linear regression, negative binomial regression) were trained in a dataset of 9,584 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting between January 2017 and December 2021. The data were collected from hospital discharges from 133 centers in Brazil. Algorithms were ranked by calculating the root mean squared logarithmic error (RMSLE). The top performing algorithm was validated in a never-before-seen database of 2,627 patients. We also developed a model with the top ten variables to improve usability.

RESULTS:

The random forest technique produced the model with the lowest error. The RMLSE was 0.412 (95%CI 0.405-0.419) on the training dataset and 0.454 (95%CI 0.441-0.468) on the validation dataset. Non-elective surgery, admission to a public hospital, heart failure, and age had the greatest impact on length of hospital stay.

CONCLUSIONS:

The predictive model can be used to generate length of hospital stay indices that could be used as markers of efficiency and identify patients with the potential for prolonged hospitalization, helping the institution in managing beds, scheduling surgeries, and allocating resources.