Abstract
Background
Relatively localized conditions such as infection of the pulp or periapical tissues
if left untreated could spread and require hospital care. The objectives of this study
were to assess the prevalence of such hospital-based emergency department (ED) visits,
to quantify hospital charges associated with those visits, and to identify characteristics
of those members of the population who are likely to make such visits.
Methods
The experimental design of this study involves the use of The Nationwide Emergency
Department Sample for the year 2006. All discharges with a primary diagnosis code
for pulpal and periapical diseases (International Classification of Disease, Clinical
Modification [ICD-9-CM] code of 522) were selected for analysis. All estimates were
projected to national levels using the discharge weight variables.
Results
In the United States, during the year 2006, a total of 403,149 ED visits had a primary
diagnosis code for pulp and periapical diseases. The average patient age was 32.9
years. The mean hospital charge for ED visits was $480, and the total charges for
all the ED visits in the United States was $163,692,957. Among the ED visits, 5,721
were admitted to the same hospital for inpatient care. The mean length of stay after
hospitalization was 2.95 days. The uninsured (39.92%) constituted the largest proportion
of all ED visits.
Conclusions
This study identifies high-risk groups that are likely to present to hospital-based
EDs for the treatment of pulp and periapical diseases. This highlights the need for
significant resources to treat such patients in a hospital care setting.
Key words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 15, 2010
Identification
Copyright
© 2011 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
