1997 summary: National Hospital Discharge Survey.

Objectives— This report presents national estimates of the use of non-Federal short-stay hospitals in the United States during 1997. Numbers and rates of discharges, diagnoses, and procedures are shown by age and sex. Discharges are also shown by geographic region of the hospital. Average lengths of stay are presented for all discharges and for selected diagnostic categories by age and by sex. Methods— The estimates are based on medical abstract data collected through the National Hospital Discharge Survey for 1997. The survey has been conducted annually by the National Center for Health Statistics since 1965. Diagnoses and procedures presented are coded according to the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification, or ICD‐9‐CM.