title: The inpatient burden of abdominal and gynecological adhesiolysis in the US.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Adhesions are fibrous bands of scar tissue, often a result of surgery, that form between internal organs and tissues, joining them together abnormally. Postoperative adhesions frequently occur following abdominal surgery, and are associated with a large economic burden. This study examines the inpatient burden of adhesiolysis in the United States (i.e., number and rate of events, cost, length of stay [LOS]).
  
  
  METHODS
  Hospital discharge data for patients with primary and secondary adhesiolysis were analyzed using the 2005 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project's Nationwide Inpatient Sample. Procedures were aggregated by body system.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified 351,777 adhesiolysis-related hospitalizations: 23.2% for primary and 76.8% for secondary adhesiolysis. The average LOS was 7.8 days for primary adhesiolysis. We found that 967,332 days of care were attributed to adhesiolysis-related procedures, with inpatient expenditures totaling $2.3 billion ($1.4 billion for primary adhesiolysis; $926 million for secondary adhesiolysis). Hospitalizations for adhesiolysis increased steadily by age and were higher for women. Of secondary adhesiolysis procedures, 46.3% involved the female reproductive tract, resulting in 57,005 additional days of care and $220 million in attributable costs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Adhesiolysis remain an important surgical problem in the United States. Hospitalization for this condition leads to high direct surgical costs, which should be of interest to providers and payers.
authors.affiliation: Shire Pharmaceuticals, Wayne, PA 19087, USA.
authors.forename: Vanja
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sikirica
authors.forename: Bela
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bapat
authors.forename: Sean D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Candrilli
authors.forename: Keith L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Malcolm
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Johns
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000601:surgery*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000191:economics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000191:economics*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D000267:Tissue Adhesions / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology