National estimates of hospitalization charges for the acute care of traumatic brain injuries.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate hospitalization charges for the acute care of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)in the US and to identify factors associated with increased charges.


METHODS
Population-based descriptive study.


METHODS
The 1996 National Inpatient Sample was used, which contains all-payer data on hospital inpatient stays from 906 hospitals in 19 states. Multivariate linear regression with the log (mean + 1)charges as the dependent variable was used to identify factors associated with increased charges.


RESULTS
An estimated 254,500 TBIs required hospitalization in 1996 in the US, with 5.4 billion US dollars charged to treat these injuries during acute hospitalization. Patient age (up to 34 years), increasing severity of injury and urban teaching hospitals were associated with higher mean charges in multi-variate analysis.


CONCLUSIONS
Based on hospitalization rates, mean and total charges, segments of the population were identified that are likely candidates for injury prevention interventions.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000191:economics* / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D017722:Hospital Charges / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014481:United States