The impact of prenatal exposure to cocaine on newborn costs and length of stay.
OBJECTIVE
Our intention is to determine newborn costs and lengths of stay attributable to prenatal exposure to cocaine and other illicit drugs.


METHODS
All parturients who delivered at a large municipal hospital in New York City between November 18, 1991 and April 11, 1992.


METHODS
A cross-sectional analysis used multivariate, loglinear regressions to analyze differences in costs and length of stay between infants exposed and unexposed prenatally to cocaine and other illicit drugs, adjusting for maternal race, age, prenatal care, tobacco, parity, type of delivery, birth weight, prematurity, and newborn infection.


METHODS
Urine specimens, with linked obstetric sheets and discharge abstracts, provided information on exposure, prenatal behaviors, costs, length of stay, and discharge disposition.


RESULTS
Infants exposed to cocaine or some other illicit drug stay approximately seven days longer at a cost of $7,731 more than infants unexposed. Approximately 60 percent of these costs are indirect, the result of adverse birth outcomes and newborn infection. Hospital screening as recorded on discharge abstracts substantially underestimates prevalence at delivery, but overestimates its impact on costs.
Joyce
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Baruch College, City University of New York, NY 10003, USA.
Racine
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McCalla
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Wehbeh
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D000328:Adult; D003042:Cocaine / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006746:Hospital Bed Capacity, 500 and over; D017721:Hospital Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006773:Hospitals, Municipal / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015931:Intensive Care, Neonatal / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009519:New York City; D009725:Nurseries, Hospital / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D012044:Regression Analysis; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000191:economics*
D003042:Cocaine