OBJECTIVES: To analyze trends in hospital length of stay, total costs and comorbidities in Medicaid patients with Veno-Occlusive Disease (VOD).

METHODS: The National Inpatient Sample (NIS) data set from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project was utilized in order to determine the number of hospital admissions for VOD. Thirty co-morbidities were assessed using Elixhauser scoring.

RESULTS: There were an estimated 190 hospitalizations with a diagnosis of VOD, with 50% of the patients being covered by Medicaid. The mean age was 15 (SD 16.03) years and 58% of the patients were female. The mean hospital length of stay for Medicaid patients with VOD was 53.47 (SD 40.17) days (Median was 48 days). The mean hospital charges were $1,541,016 (SD $1487179). The mean comorbidity score was 3.53 (SD 1.54). The in-hospital mortality rate was 15.79%. The vast majority of the patients were Hispanic (58%), followed by Asian (16%), Black (11%) and White (11%). The top five listed diagnoses were Liver Disease (100%), Fluid and Electrolyte Disorders (68%), Coagulopathy (47%), Cardiac Arrhythmias (21%) and Hypertension (5%). The top 3 procedure codes were for stem cell transplant, ventilation and bone marrow extraction.

CONCLUSIONS: High hospital burden of VOD in Medicaid patients shows there is a need for better treatment management for these patients.