The impact of enteric fistulas on US hospital systems

There is limited characterization of patients with enteric fistula. Our objective is to determine the incidence of the disease, and characterize demographics, healthcare costs, co-diagnoses, and procedures in this population.

The National Inpatient Sample database 2004-2014 was queried to identify patients with enteric fistula using ICD-9 code 569.81.

There were 317,000 admissions with a diagnosis of enteric fistula from 2004 to 2014, accounting for 230,000 hospital days annually. Costs totaled $500 million with charges of $1.5 billion annually. Inpatient mortality is 4.1%. Patients had significant comorbidities and 3 procedures or surgical interventions per admission.

This descriptive study elucidates the impact of enteric fistula on patients and hospitals by characterizing incidence, clinical associations, and admission characteristics. There is significant financial impact with 28,000 admissions and $500 million dollars in annual costs. This study lays the groundwork for future research by characterizing the impact of enteric fistula.