title: Hospitalizations and outcomes for diabetic gastroparesis in North Carolina.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Population-based data to assess the extent of gastroparesis in the diabetic population are scarce. We examined the demographic and clinical characteristics associated with hospital admissions for diabetic gastroparesis in North Carolina.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from the 1998 North Carolina Hospital Discharge database were abstracted from records in which gastroparesis and diabetes mellitus were listed as simultaneous diagnoses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 1476 discharges meeting our criteria, with total charges of $11,378,446 over 7850 total hospital days. Most patients were female (65.8%), > or = 45 years of age (54.5%), and had Medicare as the primary payer (52.1%). While most of these patients were admitted under emergency or urgent circumstances, the vast majority had routine discharges.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite some limitations, these data indicate that diabetic gastroparesis is not uncommon, but can be treated effectively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, Section on Epidemiology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1063, USA.
authors.forename: Ronny A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jones-Vessey
authors.forename: John H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Summerson
mesh_terms: D048909:Diabetes Complications; D005260:Female; D018589:Gastroparesis / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009657:North Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome