Background: Although many children with cerebral palsy (CP) develop secondary conditions requiring hospitalization, in-patient hospital utilization by this population has not been characterized.
Objective: To characterize hospitalizations in children with CP and to compare them with hospitalizations of those without CP using a large national data set.
Methods: Analysis of the Healthcare Utilization Project Kid Inpatient Database, a weighted survey of paediatric discharges from US hospitals in 1997.
Results: In 1997, 37,000 children with CP were hospitalized, generating charges approaching 600 million dollars. Children with CP demonstrated longer lengths of stay (6.3 vs 4.1 days, p < 0.001), higher total charges (16,024 vs 9952 dollars, p < 0.001), more diagnoses (5.6 vs 3.0, p < 0.001) and more procedures (1.7 vs 1.1, p < 0.001) per admission. Five major diagnostic categories accounted for 83.2% of the discharge diagnoses for children with CP (48.6% for those without CP, p < 0.001). Children with CP were more often transferred to other facilities (p < 0.001) or prescribed home health care (p < 0.001) upon discharge.
Conclusions: Hospitalization of children with CP represents a major expenditure for health care systems. Studies to improve the management of conditions associated with CP could result in better outcomes for children and families and potentially decrease costs associated with hospitalization.