Medical costs of mild to moderate traumatic brain injury in children.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate healthcare expenditures of children with mild to moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) outside of acute care settings.


METHODS
Data from the 1997-2000 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey were used to produce estimates of expenditures for a natural sample of 196 children with TBI.


RESULTS
Expenditures for TBI-related services in children averaged $77.9 million per year. Average per capita expenditure was $1044, of which $166 was for TBI-related services and $878 was for all other health services.


CONCLUSIONS
Although total costs of TBI in children are high, the average costs are much lower than those previous reports because youth with minor trauma were not included in prior samples.
Brener
Ilona
I
Denison University, Granville, Ohio, USA.
Harman
Jeffrey S
JS
Kelleher
Kelly J
KJ
Yeates
Keith O
KO
D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000191:economics* / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000191:economics*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health; D009820:Ohio