Trends in Technology Assistance Among Patients With Childhood Onset Chronic Conditions

To describe the prevalence, types, and trends over time of medical technology assistance (TA) in patients at the age of transition to adult care with childhood onset chronic conditions (COCCs) cared for at children's hospitals.

In this retrospective repeated annual cross-sectional cohort study of the Pediatric Health Information Systems inpatient data, patients with at least 1 hospitalization from January 1, 2008, to December 31, 2018 with a selected COCC were included. The COCCs investigated were brain and spinal cord malformation, cerebral palsy, heart and great vessel malformation, cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, and chronic renal failure. TA was defined as requiring an indwelling medical device to maintain health status. Trends over time in TA were analyzed with the Cochran-Armitage test and generalized linear models.

During the study, 381 289 unique patients accounted for 940 816 hospitalizations. Transition-aged patients (19-21 years old) represented 2.4% of all included hospitalizations over the 11-year period, whereas patients ages 21 and above represented 2.7%. The annual proportion of patients with TA increased significantly from 31.3% in 2008 to 36.9% in 2018, a 17.9% increase (P < .001).

In this cohort of patients with select COCCs hospitalized at children's hospitals, a substantial and growing number of patients at the age of transition to adult care required TA. Identifying adult providers with resources to manage COCCs and maintain medical devices placed in childhood is challenging. These trends warrant special attention to support the timely and successful transition of medically complex patients from pediatric to adult care.