Surgery and Resource Utilization Trends for Pediatric Intussusception From 2005 Through 2014

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Surgery
• Gastroenterology
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Intussusception is a common pediatric surgical emergency.
• Enema reduction is increasingly utilized and safer for pediatric intussusception.
• Trends in surgical intervention for pediatric intussusception in the US are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze trends in surgical intervention rates for pediatric intussusception in the United States from 2005-2014.
• To examine factors associated with surgical intervention and outcomes.
• To assess resource utilization for pediatric intussusception hospitalizations.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of the National Inpatient Sample database (2005-2014).
• Identification of pediatric intussusception cases (≤18 years).
• Examination of surgical intervention rates based on patient and hospital characteristics, and analysis of length of stay and hospitalization costs.

Main Results:

• Overall surgical intervention rates for pediatric intussusception remained stable (2.2% to 1.7%, P=0.07) between 2005-2014.
• Surgical intervention rates declined significantly in infants (<1 year).
• Factors associated with increased odds of surgical intervention included younger age, male gender, Hispanic race, and comorbidities; hospitalization in large urban teaching hospitals was associated with decreased odds.

Conclusions:

• Pediatric intussusception surgical intervention and resource utilization rates were stable from 2005-2014, with a notable decline in infants.
• A significant proportion of intussusception hospitalizations still require surgery.
• Further research is warranted to investigate the factors contributing to the high rate of surgical intervention.