Hospital admissions, length of stay, charges, and in-hospital death among patients with systemic sclerosis.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate population hospitalization rates to community hospitals for systemic sclerosis (SSc, scleroderma) and examine whether age, sex, race, and insurance status independently predict length of stay (LOS), hospital charges, and in-hospital death.


METHODS
The 1995 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project national inpatient sample was used to identify 3,621 SSc hospitalizations. Weighted age, sex, and race-specific frequencies were divided by population estimates to calculate hospitalizations per million people. Regression models were used to model LOS, charges, and in-hospital death with age, sex, race, and insurance serving as the primary independent variables. Covariates included numbers of diagnoses and procedures, whether or not the admission was a transfer from another hospital, and the presence of comorbid conditions.


RESULTS
Population hospitalization rates were higher for non-whites compared to whites among those < 65, while rates were higher for whites compared to non-whites for those > or =65 years old. On average, non-whites were at least 10 years younger than whites. The mean LOS was 7.5 days, with whites' average LOS being 10% shorter than non-whites', and patients with public health insurance having approximately 9% longer LOS than those with private insurance. Charges averaged almost US$15,000 per hospitalization (median = $8,441), amounting to $280 million in community hospital charges in the U.S. in 1995. The overall in-hospital death rate was 7.1%.


CONCLUSIONS
These patterns are consistent with a greater burden and increased severity of disease among non-whites under age 65 with Ssc.
Nietert
P J
PJ
Center for Health Care Research, Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston 29425, USA.
Silverstein
M D
MD
Silver
R M
RM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D005260:Female; D017722:Hospital Charges / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006764:Hospitals, Community / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011336:Probability; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000150:complications / Q000191:economics* / Q000401:mortality*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data