Trends and Outcomes of Hospitalizations Related to Acute Pancreatitis: Epidemiology from 2001 to 2014 in the United States

Objectives The aim of this study was to determine the recent trends of the rates of hospitalization, mortality of hospitalized patients, and associated health care utilization in patients with acute pancreatitis (AP). Methods We identified adult patients with primary discharge diagnosis of AP from the National Inpatient Sample database. Patients with chronic pancreatitis and/or pancreatic cancer were excluded. Primary outcomes included age-adjusted incidence of AP and in-hospital mortality based on US standard population derived from the 2000 census data. Secondary outcomes were length of stay, inflation-adjusted hospital costs in 2014 US dollars, and procedural rates. Subgroup analysis included disease etiologies, age, race, sex, hospital region, hospital size, and institution type. Results From 2001 to 2014, the rate of primary discharge diagnosis for AP increased from 65.38 to 81.88 per 100,000 US adults per year. In-hospital case fatality decreased from 1.68% to 0.69%. Mortality rate is higher in patients with AP who are older than 65 years (3.4%). Length of stay decreased, with a median of 3.8 days; cost per hospitalization decreased since 2007 from $7602 to $6766 in 2014. Conclusions The rate of hospitalization related to AP in the United States continues to increase. Mortality, length of stay, and cost per hospitalization decrease. The increase in volume of hospitalization might contribute to an overall increase in health care resource utilization.