OBJECTIVES: To examine trends in hospital length of stay and total costs in patients with Multiple Myeloma.

METHODS: The latest available 2015 National Inpatient Sample (NIS) data set of hospital admissions from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project was utilized in order to determine the number of hospital admissions for patients with MM (identified by ICD-9 for Q1-Q3 and ICD-10 codes for Q4). The LOS and costs were compared by payer type, race, gender and age groups.

RESULTS: Based on our inclusion criteria we found 17264 admissions, representing 0.2% of all hospitalizations. The mean age was 69.73 years (SD: 11.51, median 71 years). The mean LOS was 7.22 days (SD: 7.56, Median 5 days). Majority of the hospitalizations were in patients age >60 years (81%). Mean (SD) LOS by age: 18-45: 7.47 days (SD: 7.17, n= 272), 45-59: 8.21 days (SD: 9.76, n= 2186) and 60+: 7.01 days (SD: 7.01, n= 10490). Mean (SD) LOS by payer: Medicare: 6.76 days (SD: 6.75, Medicaid: 8.95 days (SD: 12.34) and Private: 8.09 days (SD: 7.84). The overall mean cost was $69,367 (SD: $95,891). Mean (SD) charges by age: 18-45: $80,249 (SD: $96909), 45-59: $85,429 (SD: $115761) and 60+: $65,737 (SD: $90805). Charges by payer type were Medicare: $62,449 (SD: $80753), Medicaid: $90,957 (SD: $145468) and Private: $84,107 (SD: $116270). LOS and charges did not significantly vary by gender or race.

CONCLUSIONS: Patients with MM incur high costs for public and private payers, mainly due to long length of stay. New treatments with shorter LOS could potentially lower the economic burden by offsetting high cost of hospitalization.