OBJECTIVES: The objective of this retrospective database analysis was to examine the most common reasons for hospitalization and the associated burden of these hospitalizations among children in the United States.
METHODS: Data from the 2012 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project’s (HCUP) Kids’ Inpatient Database (KID) were assessed for this analysis. The top-10 most common primary discharge diagnoses (ICD-9-CM) were obtained for children aged 1-4, 5-9, and 10-14 years. The length of stay (LOS) and costs for each of these admissions were reported. Costs were estimated based on charges and hospital specific cost-to-charge ratios.
RESULTS: The most common primary discharge diagnoses were: children 1-4 years (N=481,859), pneumonia (N=41,716) and acute asthma exacerbation (N=27,453); children 5-9 years (N=321,535), pneumonia (N=20,240) and acute asthma exacerbation (N=18,147); and children 10-14 (N=359,000), years acute appendicitis (N=18,487) and affective psychoses (N=13,221). Across all age groups, pneumonia, asthma, and chemotherapy administration were included in the top-10 most common diagnoses. For children 1-4 years, chemotherapy administration had the greatest burden (mean LOS=5.0 days, mean costs=$12,438; LOS range: 1.4 croup-2.6 pneumonia; cost range: $2,629 croup-$5,164 acute bronchiolitis). For children 5-9 years, affective psychoses had the longest LOS (mean LOS=8.1 days; range: 1.2 fractured humerus-4.8 acute appendicitis) and acute appendicitis had the greatest cost (mean cost=$12,104; range: $3,204 dehydration-$12,100 chemotherapy administration). For children 10-14 years, affective psychoses had the longest LOS (mean LOS=7.5 days; range: 1.6 acute appendicitis-4.5 chemotherapy administration), and chemotherapy administration had the greatest cost (mean cost=$13,295; range: $3,790 asthma with acute exacerbation-$11,999 acute appendicitis).
CONCLUSIONS: Children in the US are hospitalized for a variety of reasons, with respiratory illnesses (i.e., pneumonia, asthma, and bronchiolitis) being common in all age groups. The LOS associated with the most common reasons for hospitalization is typically short with mean costs not exceeding $14,000.
