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Multidisciplinary Care for Refractory Pediatric Functional Abdominal Pain Decreases Emergency and Inpatient

Andrew S Chu1, Laura Torres2, Grace Kao2

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Section of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition.

Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition
|September 24, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Multidisciplinary programs significantly reduce emergency department visits and hospitalizations for children with functional abdominal pain. This approach improves care and lowers healthcare utilization for pediatric patients.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Gastroenterology
  • Healthcare Management
  • Clinical Outcomes Research

Background:

  • Refractory functional abdominal pain (FAP) in children leads to significant functional disability.
  • Children with FAP often have high acute healthcare utilization, including emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations.
  • The impact of specialized multidisciplinary programs on healthcare utilization for FAP is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the effect of an outpatient Multidisciplinary Abdominal Pain Program (MAPP) on acute healthcare utilization in children with refractory FAP.
  • To compare ED visits and hospitalizations for abdominal pain in the year before and after MAPP evaluation.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective chart review of 38 children (ages 9-17) evaluated by the MAPP between October 2016 and May 2019.
  • Data collected included patient demographics and the number of ED visits and hospitalizations for abdominal pain in the year prior to and the year following MAPP evaluation.
  • Statistical analysis compared healthcare utilization metrics before and after program participation.

Main Results:

  • The median number of ED visits per patient per year decreased significantly from 1 to 0 (P < 0.0001).
  • For the 18% of children who had prior hospitalizations, the median number of hospitalizations per patient per year decreased significantly from 1 to 0 (P < 0.05).
  • Overall, multidisciplinary outpatient intervention was associated with substantial reductions in acute care use.

Conclusions:

  • Multidisciplinary outpatient programs, such as MAPP, are effective in reducing acute healthcare utilization for children with refractory functional abdominal pain.
  • These findings suggest that specialized, integrated care models can improve outcomes and decrease healthcare costs for pediatric FAP patients.
  • Further research should explore long-term outcomes and cost-effectiveness of such programs.

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