title: Surgical treatment of myelomeningocele: year 2000 hospitalization, outcome, and cost analysis in the US.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To review cases of surgical repair for myelomeningocele (MMC) using a large inpatient database from the year 2000.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database with 7.45 million patient admissions for 2000 was retrospectively studied for the first 5 procedure diagnosis of MMC repair (ICD-9 CM procedure code 0352) and ages of less than 1 year. Eighty-eight patient stays were identified. Patient demographic data, length of stay, immediate disposition at the time of discharge, hospital information, and total cost for the hospitalization were determined.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Myelomeningocele repair is mostly performed in large teaching institutions in small numbers. The majority gets to go home at discharge. It is surprising to note that only 35% also required VP shunt placement during the same hospitalization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, 1501 Kings Highway, P.O. Box 33932, Shreveport, LA 71130-3932, USA.
authors.forename: Anthony H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Sin
authors.forename: Mahmoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rashidi
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Caldito
authors.forename: Anil
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nanda
mesh_terms: D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008591:Meningomyelocele / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery*; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D017287:Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt / Q000706:statistics & numerical data