OBJECTIVE The objective was to evaluate the association of obesity as a comorbidity with hospital charges, by comparing charges for pediatric hospitalizations with vs. without obesity as a secondary diagnosis. METHODS Using the 2000 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Kids' Inpatient Database (KID), a nationally representative sample of pediatric hospital discharges, we identified ...

BACKGROUND Family-centered rounds (FCR) are defined as interdisciplinary bedside teaching rounds with active family participation. The objective of this study was to examine the association of FCR with family experiences and health services use. METHODS Prospective study comparing families with a child admitted to general pediatric inpatient services with and without FCR. The presence of FCR ...

BACKGROUND The number of uninsured children in the USA is increasing while the impact on children's health of being uninsured remains largely uncharacterized. We analyzed data from more than 23 million US children to evaluate the effect of insurance status on the outcome of US pediatric hospitalization. METHODS In our analysis of two well-known large inpatient databases, we classified patient...

We designed a system using hand-held computers allowing physicians in the hospital setting to access their surgical schedules, to track patients in multiple hospitals, and to quickly enter billing information. The physicians would then update their schedules and pass billing information electronically when they returned to the office. The system was successfully implemented, it was well accepte...

BACKGROUND Rotavirus vaccine was recommended for US infants in 2006. We estimated baseline prevaccine burden and monitored postvaccine trends in gastroenteritis-coded and rotavirus-coded hospitalizations among US children. METHODS We analyzed data from the State Inpatient Databases (SID) for 29-44 US states over a 10-year period (2000-2009) to calculate gastroenteritis and rotavirus-coded hos...

OBJECTIVE To describe the incidence and epidemiology of Kawasaki syndrome (KS) in Hawaii. METHODS Retrospective analysis of the State Inpatient Database for Hawaii residents hospitalized with KS during 1996 through 2001. RESULTS During 1996 through 2001, 267 persons younger than 18 years of age living in Hawaii were hospitalized with KS; 226 (84.6%) were younger than 5 years of age. The ave...

OBJECTIVES Many physicians debate the efficacy of mechanical thrombectomy for ischaemic stroke, but most agree that to establish potential benefit, patient selection must be examined further. People >80 years are a growing population of patients with ischaemic stroke but are largely excluded from clinical trials. The benefit of thrombectomy for them may be greatly reduced due to diminishing neu...

BACKGROUND Regional variations in hospital billing for total joint arthroplasty (TJA) have been reported. It is not clear whether differences exist in hospital charges for TJA based on hospital profit status. METHODS Data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Medicare Severity-Diagnosis Related Groups (MS-DRGs) 469 (TJA with comorbidity) and 470 (TJA without comorbidity) for ...

BACKGROUND This study examines hospital charges and length of stay (LOS) associated with septicemia during hospitalization for leukemia treatment among children aged ≤18 years. METHODS Nationwide Inpatient Sample (year 2008) was used. All hospitalizations (regardless of their discharge status following hospitalization) among children aged ≤18 years with a primary diagnosis of leukemia were se...

We studied 470 crash- and noncrash-related road transportation injuries to vehicle occupants, bicyclists, and pedestrians seen at a trauma center in Vermont. Among primary care patients, crash and noncrash groups had similar AIS and average disability at one year. Hospitalized patients had longer disability, but a majority of overall disability days and ongoing disability was found among nonhos...