Hospitalizations and emergency room visits for adolescents and young adults with muscular dystrophy living in South Carolina |
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| Authors: | Joshua R. Mann MD MPH Julie A. Royer MSPH Suzanne Mcdermott PhD James W. Hardin PhD Orgul Ozturk PhD Natalie Street MS CGC |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina, USA;2. South Carolina Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office, Health and Demographics Section, Columbia, South Carolina, USA;3. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health, Columbia, South Carolina, USA;4. Economics Department, Moore School of Business, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA;5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Atlanta, Georgia, USA |
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| Abstract: | Introduction: Transitioning from adolescence to adulthood can be problematic for individuals with rare disabilities such as muscular dystrophy (MD). Methods: We identified a cohort of 220 individuals with MD and 440 matched comparison individuals and measured emergency room (ER) and inpatient (IP) encounters for the years 2000 through 2010, using all‐payer hospital discharge uniform billing data. We compared ER and IP use rates for people with and without MD, and for 15–19‐year‐olds with MD to 20–24‐year‐olds with MD. Results: ER and IP use rates were significantly higher among individuals with MD than the comparison group. In addition, ER and IP use rates were significantly higher in the 20–24‐year age group than in the 15–19‐year group. Conclusions: Additional research is needed to determine whether increased ER and IP use in young adults is attributable to difficulties in healthcare transition versus increased disease severity. Muscle Nerve 52: 714–721, 2015 |
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| Keywords: | ambulatory care– sensitive conditions emergency department hospitalizations muscular dystrophy transition |
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