National hospital discharge survey: annual summary, 1998.

Objectives: This report presents 1998 national estimates and selected trend data on the use of non-Federal short-stay hospitals in the United States. Estimates are provided by demographic characteristics of patients discharged, geographic region of hospitals, conditions diagnosed, and surgical and nonsurgical procedures performed. Measurements of hospital use include number and rate of discharges and days of care, and the average length of stay. Estimates of first-listed diagnoses, days of care, all-listed diagnoses, and all-listed procedures are presented according to their code number in the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM).

Methods: The estimates are based on data collected through the National Hospital Discharge Survey. The survey has been conducted annually by the National Center for Health Statistics since 1965. In 1998, data were collected for approximately 307,000 discharges. Of the 495 eligible non-Federal short-stay hospitals in the sample, 478 (97 percent) responded to the survey.

Results: An estimated 31.8 million inpatients were discharged from non-Federal short-stay hospitals in 1998. These patients used an estimated 160.9 million days of care. Patients 65 years of age and over accounted for 39 percent of discharges and used 48 percent of days of care. Heart disease and deliveries made up 26 percent of first-listed diagnoses. One or more procedures were reported for 63 percent of discharges. The cesarean rate per 100 deliveries increased from 20.8 in 1995 to 22.5 in 1998. An estimated 3.8 million newborn infants were discharged from short-stay hospitals after average stays of 3.2 days.