Dataset Information

Hospital and ED charges for spina bifida care in the United States between 2006 and 2014: Over $2 billion annually.

ABSTRACT:

Background

More children with spina bifida (SB) are surviving into adulthood. Unfortunately, little data exist regarding the economic implications of modern SB care.

Objective

We examined economic data from two national databases to estimate the annual nationwide hospital and emergency charges of SB from 2006-14.

Methods

We analyzed the 2006-2014 Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) and Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS). SB patients were defined using ICD-9-CM codes. Demographic and charge data were obtained from each database. Multiple imputation was used to estimate missing data (1.6% for NIS and 22% in NEDS). The principal outcomes were mean, median, and total charges for encounters each year.