The Impact of Sociodemographic and Hospital Factors on Length of Stay Before and After Pyloromyotomy.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to determine whether racial or ethnic and insurance disparities exist in pre- and post-operative length of stay (LOS) in patients with hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (HPS).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Kid's Inpatient Database database (years 2006, 2009, and 2012) was analyzed for patients aged <1 y with HPS with a primary procedure of pyloromyotomy. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to determine the association between race or ethnicity and insurance status with the primary outcomes of prolonged pre- and post-operative LOS (defined as >1 d). Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were tabulated using SPSS v24.

RESULTS: A total of 13,706 cases were identified: 8503 (62%) non-Hispanic whites, 3143 (23%) Hispanics, 1007 (7%) non-Hispanic blacks (NHB), and 1053 (8%) non-Hispanic other race or ethnicity. NHB and Hispanics were 45% and 37%, respectively, more likely to have prolonged preoperative LOS compared with non-Hispanic whites (OR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.19-1.77; OR = 1.37, 95% CI: 1.18-1.60, respectively). Children with public insurance had 21% increased odds of increased preoperative LOS (OR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.06-1.38). All minority groups had increased odds of postoperative LOS (NHB OR 1.36, 95% CI: 1.17-1.54; Hispanic OR 1.14, 95% CI: 1.03-1.26; NHO OR 1.31, 95% CI: 1.15-1.51).

CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that NHB, Hispanics, and other race or ethnicity were more likely to have prolonged pre- and post-operative LOS. In addition, children with public insurance were more likely to have prolonged preoperative LOS. Further work is needed to better characterize and eliminate disparities in the management and outcomes of children with HPS.