• Jacqueline F Moreau, Ericka L Fink, Mary E Hartman, Derek C Angus, Michael J Bell, Walter T Linde-Zwirble, and R Scott Watson.
• 1Department of Critical Care Medicine, the CRISMA Center (Clinical Research, Investigation, and Systems Modeling of Acute Illness), University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA. 2Safar Center for Resuscitation Research, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA. 3Division of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO. 4ZD Associates LLC, Perkasie, PA.
• Pediatr Crit Care Me. 2013 Oct 1; 14 (8): 801810801-10.

ObjectivesAlthough neurologic disorders are among the most serious acute pediatric illnesses, epidemiologic data are scarce. We sought to determine the scope and outcomes of children with these disorders in the United States.DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingAll nonfederal hospitals in 11 states encompassing 38% of the U.S. pediatric population.PatientsChildren 29 days to 19 years old hospitalized in 2005.InterventionsNone.Measurements And Main ResultsUsing International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification, codes, we identified admissions with neurologic diagnoses, analyzed patient and hospitalization characteristics, and generated age- and sex-adjusted national estimates. Of 960,020 admissions in the 11 states, 10.7% (103,140) included a neurologic diagnosis, which yields a national estimate of 273,900 admissions of children with neurologic diagnoses. The most common were seizures (53.9%) and traumatic brain injury (17.3%). Children with neurologic diagnoses had nearly three times greater ICU use than other hospitalized children (30.6% vs 10.6%, p < 0.001). Neurologic diagnoses were associated with nearly half of deaths (46.2%, n = 1,790). Among ICU patients, children with neurologic diagnoses had more than three times the mortality of other patients (4.8% vs1.5%, p < 0.001). Children with neurologic diagnoses had a significantly longer median hospital length of stay than other children (3 d [1, 5] vs 2 d [2, 4], p < 0.001) and greater median hospital costs ($4,630 [$2,380, $9,730] vs $2,840 [$1,520, $5,550], p < 0.001).ConclusionsChildren with neurologic diagnoses account for a disproportionate amount of ICU stays and deaths compared with children hospitalized for other reasons.

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