BACKGROUND The use of white cell (WBC)-reduced blood in elective colorectal surgery appears to reduce the frequency of postoperative infection. The question to be addressed is whether the cost:benefit ratio justifies the recommendation that WBC-reduced blood should be used for all colorectal surgery. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS Patients admitted for elective colorectal surgery (n = 197) were ran...

BACKGROUND Mood disorders including depression and bipolar disorders are a major cause of morbidity in childhood and adolescence, and hospitalizations for mood disorders are the leading diagnosis for all hospitalizations in general hospitals for children age 13 to 17. We describe characteristics of these hospitalizations in the U.S. focusing on duration of stay, charges, and geographic variatio...

OBJECTIVES Although bronchiolitis is the leading cause of hospitalization for infants, there are limited data describing the epidemiology of bronchiolitis hospitalizations, and the associated cost is unknown. Our objective was to determine nationally representative estimates of the frequency of bronchiolitis hospitalizations and its associated costs. PATIENTS AND METHODS We analyzed the 2002 ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The impact of endovascular therapy on treatment outcomes of unruptured cerebral aneurysms has not been studied in a defined geographic area. METHODS All primary diagnoses of unruptured aneurysms were retrieved from a statewide database of hospital discharges in California from January 1990 through December 1998. Admissions for initial treatment and all follow-up care we...

Objective: To examine the impact of race and ethnicity on financial charges associated with radical cystectomy (RC). Methods: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample was used to identify patients who underwent RC between January 1 1998 and December 31 2010. The primary outcome was hospital charges adjusted for inflation. Multivariable analysis was performed using a fully-adjusted generalized linear mod...

INTRODUCTION: Intentional ingestions of foreign objects (IIFO) continue to be prevalent among prisoners. Our previous research examined determinants of hospital admission, endoscopy, and surgery among prisoners who ingest foreign objects. However, little is known about the financial impact of these events on healthcare facilities that service the prisoner population. This study aims to fill thi...

Chronic pancreatitis is a persistent inflammatory condition of the pancreas characterized by recurrent episodes of abdominal pain with variable patterns of intensity and duration.1 Although there are numerous etiologies for pancreatitis (Figure 1), there is uniformity in the progressive fibrotic damage to the pancreatic parenchyma seen among all patients that eventually results in irreversible ...

The cost of definitive therapy was compared in 25 patients who underwent radiofrequency catheter ablation of accessory pathways in 1990 and 25 patients who underwent surgical ablation of accessory pathways in 1989. In the radiofrequency group, 23 of 25 patients had a single accessory pathway and the remaining 2 patients each had 2 accessory pathways. In the surgical group, 20 patients had a sin...

OBJECTIVES To estimate the economic burden of osteoporotic vertebral fracture (VF) from a societal perspective. METHODS From 2002 to 2004, we identified all National Health Insurance claims records for women >or= 50 years old with a diagnosis of VF. The first 6-months was defined as a "clearance period," Ysuch that patients were considered as incident cases if their first claim of fracture wa...

To determine the relative economic impact of alternative methods of coronary revascularization, in-hospital patient accounts were reviewed in 149 patients undergoing elective coronary angioplasty (n = 50), coronary atherectomy (n = 72) or intracoronary stent placement (n = 27) over an 18-month period. Clinical and angiographic features were similar in the 3 groups, except that prior restenosis ...