Does high BMI influence hospital charges in children undergoing adenotonsillectomy?
GROUND: Obesity is a highly prevalent chronic problem with health and fiscal consequences. Data from adults and nonsurgical pediatric patients suggest that obesity has serious implications for the US economy. OBJECTIVE: Our goal was to describe the impact of BMI on hospital charges in children undergoing adenotonsillectomy (AT). METHODS AND PROCEDURES: We carried out a retrospective comparative analysis of the electronic anesthesia record and the charges from billing data from a large tertiary institution on children aged 3-18 years who had AT during the year 2005-2007. The main outcome measures were mean total hospital charges, likelihood of admission, and length of hospital stay (LOS). RESULTS: Of 1,643 children, 68.9% were aged <10 years, 76% were whites, and 74.1% had private commercial insurance. Most (75.3%) children were discharged on the day of surgery. Obese and overweight children were more likely to be admitted than their normal-weight peers (X(2)=26.3, P<0.001). Among those
