Estimating the nationwide, hospital based economic impact of pediatric urolithiasis.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
PURPOSE: The incidence of urolithiasis is increasing in children and adolescents but the economic impact of this problem is unclear. We examined 2 large databases to estimate the nationwide economic impact of pediatric urolithiasis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed the 2009 NEDS and KID, used ICD-9-CM codes to identify children 18 years or younger diagnosed with urolithiasis and abstracted demographic and charge data from each database. RESULTS: We identified 7,348 weighted inpatient discharges in KID and 33,038 emergency department weighted encounters in NEDS. Of the patients 32% and 36% were male, respectively. Inpatients were younger than those who presented to the ED (mean age 13.9 vs 15.7 years). Most patients had private insurance (52.9% to 57.2%) and the South was the most common geographic region (39.5% to 44.4%). The most common procedures were ureteral stent placement in 20.4% to 24.1% of cases, followed by ureteroscopy in 3.8% to 4.4%. Median charges per admission were $13,922 for a weighted total of $229 million per year. Median emergency department charges were $3,991 per encounter for a weighted total of $146 million per year. CONCLUSIONS: Each day in 2009 in the United States an estimated 20 children were hospitalized and 91 were treated in the emergency department for upper tract stones. A conservative estimate of 2009 annual charges related to pediatric urolithiasis in the United States is at least $375 million. This is likely a significant underestimate of the true economic burden of pediatric urolithiasis because it accounts for neither outpatient management nor indirect costs such as caregiver time away from work.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Wang, H-HS; Wiener, JS; Lipkin, ME; Scales, CD; Ross, SS; Routh, JC
Published Date
- May 2015
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 193 / 5 Suppl
Start / End Page
- 1855 - 1859
PubMed ID
- 25305358
Pubmed Central ID
- PMC4393793
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1527-3792
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1016/j.juro.2014.09.116
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- United States