Pediatric retropharyngeal abscesses: a national perspective

To determine the resource utilization and national variation in the management of pediatric retropharyngeal abscesses.

The Kids' Inpatient Database (KID) 2003 was analyzed. International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision code 478.24 was the inclusion criteria.

One thousand three hundred and twenty-one admissions with retropharyngeal abscess were sampled from the KID in 2003; there were no deaths. The mean age of patients was 5.1 years (S.D. 4.4 years); 63% were male. Of all admissions, 563 (43%) patients underwent surgical drainage of their infection; surgical patients had longer length of stays and total charges than patients managed medically. The average state spending per admission varied from $5126 (Utah) to $27,776 (California). There was seasonal variation in admissions with the highest percentage of admissions occurring in March (10.7%) and lowest in August (3.8%). Indicators of increased resource utilization included age (older patients), increased length of stay, non-elective admission, discharge quarter, and number of other diagnoses on record. There is a statistically significant decrease in the length of stay and total charges in patients admitted in the Midwest compared to other regions of the country.

This study demonstrates national demographics and normative data on a commonly treated pediatric disease process, retropharyngeal space infections. The average demographic of such a patient is a 5-year-old male from an urban location admitted in a non-elective fashion via the emergency department. The mean total charges were $16,377; 90% of admissions had total charges less than $28,511. Patients who underwent surgical procedures had mean total charges of $22,013. There exists significant national variation in resource utilization for this commonly treated disease process.