title: Population-based study of hospital costs for hospitalizations of infants, children, and adults with a congenital heart defect, Arkansas 2006 to 2011.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are common birth defects and are associated with high hospital costs. The objectives of this study were to assess hospitalization costs, across the lifespan, of patients with CHDs in Arkansas.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from the 2006 to 2011 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Arkansas State Inpatient Databases were used. We included hospitalizations of patients whose admission occurred between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2011, and included a principal or secondary CHD ICD-9-CM diagnosis code (745.0-747.49, except 747.0 and 745.5 for preterm infants). Hospitalizations were excluded if they involved out-of-state residents, normal newborn births, or if missing data included age at admission, state of residence, or hospital charges. Children were defined as those < 18 years-old at time of admission.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Between 2006 and 2011, there were 2,242,484 inpatient hospitalizations in Arkansas. There were 9071 (0.4%) hospitalizations with a CHD, including 5,158 hospitalizations of children (2.2% of hospitalizations among children) and 3,913 hospitalizations of adults (0.2% of hospitalizations of adults). Hospital costs for these CHD hospitalizations totaled $355,543,696. The average annual cost of CHD hospitalizations in Arkansas was $59,257,283 during this time period. Infants accounted for 72% of all CHD-related hospital costs; total costs of CHD hospitalizations for children were almost five times those of hospitalization costs for adults with CHD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hospitalizations with CHDs account for a disproportionate share of hospital costs in Arkansas. Hospitalizations of children with CHD accounted for a higher proportion of total hospitalizations than did hospitalizations of adults with CHD.
authors.affiliation: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Regina M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Simeone
authors.affiliation: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.|Sibley Heart Center, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Matthew E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Oster
authors.affiliation: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas.
authors.forename: Charlotte A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Hobbs
authors.affiliation: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas.
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Robbins
authors.affiliation: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas.
authors.forename: R Thomas
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.affiliation: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors.forename: Margaret A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Honein
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001131:Arkansas; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000191:economics*; D017721:Hospital Costs; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics*; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007297:Inpatients; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000191:economics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: arkansas; congenital heart defects; healthcare cost and utilization project; hospital costs; state inpatient database