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Trends in inpatient burden from pressure injuries in the United States: Cross-sectional study National Inpatient
Siri Choragudi1, Luis F Andrade1, Narges Maskan Bermudez1
1Dr Philip Frost Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA.
Insights
Hospital costs and pressure injury prevalence are rising in the US, despite shorter stays. Minority groups face higher costs and longer hospitalizations, highlighting disparities in care.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare research
- Public health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Pressure injuries represent a significant comorbidity, increasing healthcare expenditures.
- Existing research on pressure injury burden is primarily European or global, with a gap in US-specific comprehensive analyses.
- Understanding trends in pressure injuries is crucial for healthcare cost management and patient outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze trends in the burden of pressure injuries among hospitalized adults in the United States.
- To stratify these trends by sociodemographic subgroups, focusing on race and ethnicity.
- To identify changes in prevalence, hospitalisation costs, and length of stay from 2009 to 2019.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) of the Healthcare Cost and Utilisation Project (HCUP).
- Extracted data on length of admission, total hospitalisation cost, and sociodemographic information for adult hospitalisations between 2009 and 2019.
- Analyzed annual prevalence, mean hospitalisation cost, and mean length of stay, with stratification by racial groups.
Main Results:
- Overall annual prevalence of pressure injuries and mean hospitalisation costs increased significantly from 2009 to 2019.
- The annual mean length of hospitalisation decreased during the study period.
- Minority racial groups experienced higher average hospitalisation costs and longer lengths of stay compared to other groups.
- A decreasing trend in pressure injury prevalence was observed specifically in White patients.
Conclusions:
- Despite a reduction in hospitalisation length, pressure injury prevalence and associated costs are escalating in the US.
- Significant disparities persist among racial groups, with minority populations bearing a disproportionately higher burden.
- Targeted interventions are necessary to address the rising costs, prevalence, and racial disparities in pressure injury care.
Abstract:
Pressure injuries are a significant comorbidity and lead to increased overall healthcare costs. Several European and global studies have assessed the burden of pressure injuries; however, no comprehensive analysis has been completed in the United States. In this study, we investigated the trends in the burden of pressure injuries among hospitalised adults in the United States from 2009 to 2019, stratified by sociodemographic subgroups. The length of admission, total cost of hospitalisation, and sociodemographic data was extracted from the National Inpatient Sample provided by the Healthcare Cost and Utilisation Project, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Overall, the annual prevalence of pressure injuries and annual mean hospitalisation cost increased ($69,499.29 to $102,939.14), while annual mean length of stay decreased (11.14-9.90 days). Among all races, minority groups had higher average cost and length of hospitalisation. Our findings suggest that while the length of hospitalisation is decreasing, hospital costs and prevalence are rising. In addition, differing trends among racial groups exist with decreasing prevalence in White patients. Further studies and targeted interventions are needed to address these differences, as well as discrepancies in racial groups.
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