Short Bowel Syndrome (SBS) is a common cause of chronic intestinal failure and is associated with increased morbidity, mortality, poor quality of life, and an increased burden on health care costs.
We used the United States’ Nationwide In-patient Sample (NIS) database from 2005 to 2014. We identified adult SBS hospitalizations by using a combination of International Classification of Diseases 9th Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes. We studied the demographics of the SBS cases and analyzed the trends in the number of hospitalizations, in-hospital mortality, and health-care costs. We also identified the risk factors associated with in-hospital mortality.
A total of 53,040 SBS hospitalizations were identified. We found that SBS-related hospitalizations increased by 55% between 2005 (N = 4,037) to 2014 (N = 6,265). During this period, the in-hospital mortality decreased from 40 per 1,000 to 29 per 1,000 hospitalizations, resulting in an overall reduction of 27%. Higher mortality was noted in SBS patients with sepsis (6.7%), liver dysfunction (6.2%), severe malnutrition (6.0%), and metastatic cancer (5.4%). The overall mean length of stay (LOS) for SBS-related hospitalizations was 14.7 days with a mean hospital cost of US $34,130. We noted a steady decrease in the LOS, while the cost of care remained relatively stable.
The national burden of SBS related hospitalizations continues to rise and the mortality associated with SBS has substantially decreased. Older SBS patients with sepsis, liver dysfunction, severe malnutrition, and metastatic cancer had the highest risk of mortality. Healthcare utilization in SBS remains high. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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