Do Germans keep patients too long in hospital? A prospective randomized trial.

Cost-effectiveness reduces hospital stay for all patients with thyroid surgery but lacks information on medical comparability and patients' fulfilled expectations. The aim of this study was to assess if a hospital stay of 2 days after thyroid surgery had a negative influence on the medical quality or on health-related quality of life. In a controlled prospective randomized trial with 238 patients, a postoperative hospital stay of 2 days was compared to one longer than 2 days.