Nine Year Trend Analysis Of Hospitalizations Attributed To Oral Cancers

Objectives: Oral cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among the older population groups in the United States and a significant amount of healthcare resources are used in treating such patients. The current study examines the nine year (years 2000 to 2008) discharge patterns and outcomes in patients hospitalized for oral cancers in the United States.

Methods: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project for the years 2000 through 2008 was used. All hospitalizations with primary ICD-9-CM diagnoses codes for oral cancers were selected for analysis. The demographic characteristics and outcomes including in-hospital mortality, length of stay in hospital, and hospital charges were examined. Nationwide estimates are presented.

Results: During the nine years of the study period, a total of 146,928 hospitalizations were primarily attributed to oral cancers. The average age per each hospitalization was 62 years. Males comprised of 65% of these hospitalizations. A total of 5,310 patients died in hospitals. The primary payers were Medicare (42.2% of all hospitalizations), Medicaid (11.9%), private insurance plans (37.9%), and other insurance plans (3.2%). The uninsured comprised 4.8% of all hospitalizations. About 71% of all hospitalizations occurred on an emergency basis. The mean length of stay in hospital was 6.7 days. The total hospitalization days in the entire United States during the nine years of study period was 987,747 days. The mean hospitalization charge ranged from $28,711 in the year 2000 to $62,885 in the year 2008. The total hospitalization charges in the entire United States ranged from $384 million in the year 2000 to $1.08 billion in the year 2008.

Conclusions: The current study provides nine year nationwide epidemiological estimates of hospitalizations primarily attributed to oral cancers in the United States and highlights the healthcare burden associated with this condition.