EurekAlert.org

Study shows that children with kidney disease have longer hospitalization stays and higher hospitalization costs and mortality than children hospitalized for other chronic diseases.

Children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) often require hospitalization for various reasons. However, outcomes of this high-risk population are unknown. Data were collected from US hospitals to study the potential impact of CKD on hospitalization-related outcomes. The authors found that children with CKD had longer hospital stays, incurred higher health care expenses, and were at higher risk of death than children hospitalized for other chronic illnesses. This study suggests that these associations are related to the higher degree of medical complexity among children hospitalized with CKD. Further investigation is needed to better understand the health care needs and delivery of care to hospitalized children with CKD.