title: Hospital resource utilization among patients with sickle cell disease.
abstract: In the United States, sickle cell disease primarily affects African Americans and carries a high risk of disability, making its sufferers particularly vulnerable. Sickle cell patients often experience unexpected, intermittent, and life-threatening complications leading to high levels of emergency room use and frequent hospitalizations. Using national discharge data from not-for-profit hospitals, this study explores the relationship between patient and hospital characteristics and hospital resource use by sickle cell patients. A random-effects least squares regression analysis was used to examine relationships between patient and hospital characteristics and hospital charges and length of stay. Patient characteristics, especially severity measures, related significantly to total hospital charges, length of stay, and average daily charges, but few hospital characteristics were associated significantly with these outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA.
authors.forename: Michelle L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Konrad
authors.forename: Christopher C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Dvorak
mesh_terms: D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000191:economics* / Q000628:therapy*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003710:Demography; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006295:Health Resources / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006302:Health Services Research; D017722:Hospital Charges; D006788:Hospitals, Voluntary / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014481:United States; D014600:Utilization Review