OBJECTIVES

: To describe racial disparities among hospitalized patients with Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy (DMD).

METHODS

: A cross-sectional analysis using 2016-2018 hospital discharge data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project National Inpatient Sample. The sample included hospital admissions identified using ICD-10-CM diagnosis code G71.01. Healthcare utilization (HCU) outcomes were in-hospital mortality, length of stay (LOS), and charges. Sample weights were applied to generate nationally representative estimates of hospital admissions. Descriptive statistics and multivariable regression models (adjusting for age, gender, payor, hospital region, comorbidity score) were used to examine differences in HCU outcomes between white and non-white patients with DMD.

RESULTS

: A total of 154 admissions were identified for DMD; 94 white, 53 non-white, and seven missing. Nationally representative estimates were 438 white and 249 non-white patients. Mean (SD) age at admission was 34.2 (17.6) and 21.8 (11.4) years for whites and non-whites, respectively (p = <0.001). The most frequent Medicare severity diagnosis related group was 207: Respiratory System Diagnosis with Ventilator Support >96 Hours (9%) for whites and 871: Septicemia with Major Complications and Comorbidities (11%) for non-whites. Mortality occurred in four (4.3%) whites and four (7.5%) non-whites (p = 0.398). Median (IQR) LOS was 6 (3,10) and 5 (2,11) days for whites and non-whites . Median (IQR) charges were $50,290 ($27,043:$128,334) and $62,594 ($28,834:$143,261) for whites and non-whites. Adjusted regression results revealed no statistical difference in mortality or LOS; though, non-whites were associated with an increased visit charges of $144,431 (p = <0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

: Low sample size may be due to delayed use of the DMD diagnosis code. Mean age was unusually high, perhaps indicating improved overall survival outcomes among DMD patients. Though racial disparities were not associated with in-hospital mortality or LOS, we did find substantial charges associated with non-white patients. Further studies are necessary to confirm these results.