Abstracts

RATIONALE: To characterize the patterns and economic consequences of hospitalization of epileptic patients at a tertiary care referral center. METHODS: A four-year period was accessed using the hospital computer data. Patients with ICD-9 codes for epilepsy were identified. Demographic data and cost data were evaluated. RESULTS: The total number of patients with a diagnosis of epilepsy were 964. Those age 18 or less accounted for 42.2%,those 19-64 accounted for 46.8% and those 65 and older 10.9%. For 578 evaluable patients, Medicaid patients accounted for 30.3%, Medicare for 28% and managed care for 14.5%; the majority of the remainder had commercial insurance. The mean total charge was $24,797 (minimum $330-maximum $287,510). The average length of stay was 12 days (range 1-127), the average daily charge was $2108 (range $330-$11,147) and the average number of admissions per patient was 2 (range 1-12). Three hundred and ninety-five patients had more than 1 admission during the four year period. CONCLUSIONS: The number of patients hospitalized with epilepsy at a tertiary care referral center may reflect difficulties in outpatient management, need for inpatient workup or exacerbation of the epilepsy for unknown reasons. These data can help identify high-risk patients for future therapeutic and social interventions.