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Abstract #157017

Li-Hui Chen, MS, PhD and Margaret Warner, PhD. Office of Analysis and Epidemiology, National Center for Health Statistics (CDC), 3311 Toledo Rd, Hyattsville, MD 20782, 1-301-458-4446, eyx5@cdc.gov

Rates of hospital discharges for injured persons ages 15-64 years decreased from 1988 to 2004. The objective of this research is to determine if trends in injury hospital discharge rates among those 15-64 years of age vary by injury severity. The National Hospital Discharge Survey (1988-2004) was used for the analysis. Survival Risk Ratios (SRR) were calculated by dividing the number of patients that survive a given ICD-9CM injury diagnosis code by the number of patients with that diagnosis code [(SRRs range from 0 (unsurvivable) to 1 (no threat to life)]. For discharges with multiple diagnoses, the diagnosis with the minimum SRR (i.e. lowest probability of survival) was used to determine severity. Injury discharge rates per 10,000 population were calculated using 7 different severity thresholds [discharges with a minimum SRR <=0.95 (most severe injuries only) to <=1.0 (all injuries)] by year for those ages 15-64 years. The trends for injury hospital discharge rates changed as the severity threshold changed. For example, the estimated rates for all injury discharges decreased on average 4% per year from 1988 to 2004, while rates calculated with discharges with a minimum SRR less than or equal to 0.995 (>=0.5% mortality) decreased on average 2% per year. The less rapid decline in rates of discharges for minor injuries could be explained by: 1) decreases in minor injury incidence due to prevention measures or 2) changes in health care delivery for minor injuries.

Learning Objectives:

• The audience should be able to understand different methodologies to summarize injury severity for hospital discharges.
• The audience should be able to describe the patterns of injury hospital discharge rates for people 15-64 years of age by level of severity.
• The audience should be able to describe possible reasons why the injury hospital discharge rates decrease over the study period.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.