Trends of hospitalization for major bipolar unspecified in USA: A nationwide analysis

Objectives Bipolar unspecified (BP-U) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients. While BP-U has been extensively studied in the past, the contemporary data for impact of BP-U on cost of hospitalization are largely lacking. Methods We queried the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project's Nationwide Inpatient Sample (HCUP-NIS) dataset between 1998–2011 using the ICD-9 codes. Severity of comorbid conditions was defined by Deyo modification of Charlson comorbidity index. Primary outcome was in-hospital mortality and secondary outcome was total charges for hospitalization. Using SAS 9.2, Chi 2 test, t -test and Cochran-Armitage test were used to test significance. Results A total of 711,147 patients were analyzed; 61.33% were female and 38.67% were male ( P P P Conclusions While mortality has slightly decreased from 1998 to 2011, the cost has significantly increased from $0.21 billion/year $19.15 billion/year, which leads to an estimated $18.94 billion/year additional burden to US health care system. In the era of cost conscious care, preventing BP-U related hospitalization could save billions of dollars every year. Focused efforts are needed to establish preventive measures for BP-U related hospitalization.