Profile of Childhood Poisoning and Its Outcomes in the United States: A One-Year Nationwide Study of Emergency and Inpatient Admissions

Childhood poisoning is a prevalent and significant public health issue, with a higher incidence among children under the age of five due to their natural inquisitiveness and impulsive behavior. In order to gain a better understanding of the burden and outcomes of acute poisoning in children, this study utilized data from two comprehensive databases: the 2018 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample and the National (Nationwide) Inpatient Sample. A total of 257,312 hospital visits were analyzed, with 85.5% being emergency department visits and 14.5% being inpatient admissions. Drug overdose emerged as the most commonly known cause of poisoning in both emergency and inpatient settings. While alcohol poisoning was the predominantly known cause of non-pharmaceutical poisoning in the inpatient setting, household soaps and detergents were more common in the emergency setting. Among the identified pharmaceutical agents, non-opioid analgesics and antibiotics were the most frequently implicated. However, a significant proportion of the poisoning cases were caused by unidentified substances (26.8% in the pharmaceutical group and 72.2% in the non-pharmaceutical group). There were 211 deaths in total and further analysis revealed that patients with higher Charlson indices and hospital stays exceeding seven days were associated with increased likelihood of mortality. Additionally, admission to teaching hospitals or hospitals located in the western region of the country was linked to an increased likelihood of an extended hospital stay.

Disparity in hospital admissions and length of stay based on income status for emergency department hypertensive crisis visits

OBJECTIVE

Racial, gender, and socioeconomic status have been shown to impact the delivery of care. How this impacts the management of hypertensive crisis remains unclear. We aim to identify disparities on admission frequency and length of stay (LOS) among those presenting with hypertensive crisis, as a function of household income.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional analysis of 2016 emergency department visits and supplemental inpatient data from the Nationwide Emergency Department Sample. Median household income quartiles were established. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to estimate odds of admission in each income quartile. A multivariable linear regression model was used to predict LOS.

RESULTS

After applying sample weighting, the total number of emergency department visits was 33 727 with 6906, 25 443, and 1378 visits for hypertensive emergency, hypertensive urgency, and unspecified crisis, respectively. There were 13 191, 8889, 6400, 5247 visits in the (first) lowest, second, third , and fourth (highest) income quartiles, respectively. The median age for the study population was 60. The most common comorbidity was chronic kidney disease. Individuals with the highest income, had a lower likelihood of admission, compared with the lowest quartile (adjusted odds ratio: 0.41, 95% CI 0.22-0.74). There was a significant association between income quartile and LOS among hypertensive emergency patients (beta coefficient: 0.407, P value = 0.019).

CONCLUSION

In this study, patients with lower income were more likely to be admitted, whereas those with higher income exhibited a longer LOS. Clinicians must be made aware these disparities to ensure equitable delivery of care.

Burden of USA hospital charges for traumatic brain injury

OBJECTIVES

This study sought to estimate charges associated with USA hospital visits for traumatic brain injury (TBI), compare charges from 2006-2010 and evaluate factors associated with higher charges.

METHODS

The Nationwide Emergency Department Sample database, 2006-2010, was used to estimate charges for emergency department visits and inpatient hospital stays associated with TBI and trends in charges over time were compared. Multivariable linear regression was used to evaluate factors associated with visit charges.

RESULTS

In 2010, there were $21.4 billion (95% confidence interval (CI) = $17.7-$25.2 billion) in charges for TBI-related admissions, an increase of 22% from 2006. Charges for ED visits resulting in discharge or transfer were $8.2 billion (95% CI = $7.4-$8.9 billion), an increase of 94% from 2006. The proportion of charges for TBI-related visits was disproportionately higher than the proportion of visits for TBI across all years of the study (p < 0.001). Patient age and gender, West region, trauma centre status, non-paediatric hospital designation, metropolitan location and hospital ownership were independently associated with higher charges.

CONCLUSIONS

There was a substantial charge burden from TBI-related hospital visits and charges increased disproportionately to visit volume. There are patient and hospital factors independently associated with higher charges. These findings, as well as methods to reduce the charge burden and charge disparities, deserve further study.