BACKGROUND Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (FGIDs) are among the most common outpatient diagnoses in pediatric primary care and gastroenterology. There is limited data on the inpatient burden of childhood FGIDs in the U.S. The aim of this study was to evaluate the inpatient admission rate, length of stay, and associated costs related to FGIDs from 1997–2009. METHODS We analyzed the Kids’ Inpatient Sample Database (KID) for all subjects in which constipation (ICD-9 codes: 564.0–564.09), abdominal pain (ICD-9 codes: 789.0–789.09), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) (ICD-9 code: 564.1), abdominal migraine (ICD-9 code:346.80 and 346.81)dyspepsia (ICD-9 code: 536.8) or fecal incontinence (ICD-codes: 787.6–787.63) was the primary discharge diagnosis from 1997–2009. The KID is the largest publicly available all-payer inpatient database in the U.S., containing data from 2–3 million pediatric hospital stays yearly. KEY RESULTS From 1997–2009, the number of discharges with a FGID primary diagnosis increased slightly from 6,348,537 to 6,393,803. The total mean cost per discharge increased significantly from $6115 to $18,058 despite the length of stay remaining relatively stable. Constipation and abdominal pain were the most common FGID discharge diagnoses. Abdominal pain and abdominal migraine discharges were most frequent in the 10–14 year age group. Constipation and fecal incontinence discharges were most frequent in the 5–9 year age group. IBS discharge was most common for the 15–17 year age group. CONCLUSIONS AND INFERENCES Hospitalizations and associated costs in childhood FGIDs have increased in number and cost in the U.S. from 1997–2009. Further studies to determine optimal methods to avoid unnecessary hospitalizations and potentially harmful diagnostic testing are indicated.

The frequency of and the associated costs of ED visits for constipation are significant and have increased notably from 2006 to 2011.

Goals The aim of this study was to analyze recent trends in ED visits for diverticulitis between 2006 and 2013. Background Acute diverticulitis is a serious medical condition that frequently leads to emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, and surgeries resulting in a significant health care burden. Methods Data were obtained from the National Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) records in which diverticulitis (ICD-9-CM codes 562.11 and 562.13) was the primary diagnosis in the ED between 2006 and 2013. The NEDS collects data from more than 25 million visits in over 950 hospital emergency departments and is weighted to provide national estimates. Our findings reflected patient and hospital characteristics such as demographics, geographical region, and total charges for ED and inpatient stays. Results Between 2006 and 2013, the rate of diverticulitis-related ED visits increased by 26.8% from 89.8 to 113.9 visits per 100,000 population. The aggregate national cost of diverticulitis-related ED visits increased by 105%, from approximately $822 million in 2006 to over $1.6 billion in 2013. Cost data were adjusted for inflation and reported in 2015 dollars. The percentage of individuals admitted to the same hospital from the ED decreased from 58.0% to 47.1% from 2006 to 2013 respectively while the rate of bowel surgeries per 100,000 ED visits for diverticulitis decreased 33.7% from 2006 to 2013. Conclusions The number of ED visits due to diverticulitis and associated costs continued to rise between 2006 and 2013, while the rate of bowel surgeries and inpatient admissions through the ED for diverticulitis decreased.