Ten-year trends in adrenal insufficiency admissions

Adrenal insufficiency (AI) is a severe disease that is difficult to manage in both inpatient and outpatient settings. This study describes trends, inpatient outcomes, and the disease burden of hospitalizations for patients with AI. Data are included on hospitalizations with a principal discharge diagnosis of AI using ICD codes from the National Inpatient Sample for the years 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018. Patients <18 years and those with elective hospitalizations were excluded. From 2008 to 2018, the number of AI hospitalizations increased significantly (P-trend < 0.001), with a rising trend in the proportion of patients with Charlson Comorbidity Index scores >3. There was a significant downward trend in the length of stay from 2008 to 2018 (P-trend = 0.005). However, there was no statistically significant trend for mortality or mean total hospital charges during hospitalizations (P-trend = 0.050 and 0.076, respectively). In conclusion, AI hospitalizations significantly increased over the 10 years with an overall decrease in length of stay.