The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #66287

Melissa A Heinen, MPH¹, Marni Jean Hall, PhD², and Lois A Fingerhut, MA¹. (1) Office of Analysis, Epidemiology and Health Promotion, NCHS/CDC, 3311 Toledo Road, #6308, Hyattsville, MD 20782, 301-458-4179, mheinen@cdc.gov, (2) Division of Health Care Statistics, NCHS/CDC, 3311 Toledo Road, #3331, Hyattsville, MD 20782

In 2001 injuries accounted for 1.8 million hospitalizations and 9 million days of care in the United States. Injuries serious enough to result in hospitalization are particularly costly in terms of human suffering, health care resource consumption, and time lost from work. A universal system for reporting nonfatal injuries does not exist; however, hospital discharge data are valuable sources of information on these injuries. Data from the 1979-2001 National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS), a nationally representative survey of short stay hospitalization in the United States, were analyzed using STIPDA’s recommended definition for injury hospitalization. The injuries were categorized using the Barell Injury Diagnosis Matrix and the ICD-9 External Cause Matrix. The rate of injury hospitalization decreased 55 percent from 143 per 10,000 in 1979 to 64 per 10,000 in 2001. Males had a higher rate of injury hospitalization for all age groups except among those 65 years of age and older. The majority of hospitalizations among female 65 years of age and older were for hip fractures. The percent of patients hospitalized for an injury diagnosis with at least one valid external cause of injury code increased from 14 percent in 1979 to 68 percent in 2001. Presentation of national hospital discharge data in the standard, recommended format will provide a model for states to follow as they strive to improve their injury surveillance data systems. It will also foster the goal of developing data systems that are consistent across states.

Learning Objectives:

• At the conclusion of this paper, participants will be able to describe the trend in the number and rate of injury hospitalizations by age, sex, type of injuries, number of days of hospital care, and the average length of stay of the injured in these various categories.

Keywords: Injuries, Surveillance

Related Web page: www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/major/hdasd/nhds.htm

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.