Determinants of Hospital Charges and Length of Stay for Ocular Trauma

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

1-1-1990

Journal

Ophthalmology

Volume

97

Issue

2

DOI

10.1016/S0161-6420(90)32600-3

Abstract

Ocular trauma is an important cause of blindness and visual impairment in the United States. This study examined the economic effect of ocular trauma by evaluating hospital length of stay and charges for 4406 discharges from Maryland hospitals from 1979 to 1986. Length of stay declined on average 6.1 % per year during this period. Length of stay was positively associated with age which could not be accounted for by the severity of the trauma or the presence of secondary trauma diagnoses. Other factors associated with length of stay included race, principal diagnosis, secondary trauma, and characteristics of the hospital. National projections estimate greater than 227,000 hospital days and $175 to $200 million in hospital charges alone are due to ocular injuries every year. © 1990, American Academy of Ophthalmology, Inc. All rights reserved.

Share

COinS