Table 3. Characteristics of Patients Who Underwent Autologous Free Flap Breast Reconstruction by Region (Highest vs Lowest Cost) From 2008 to 2010 in the United Statesa.
| Variable | West | Northeast | P Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. of patients | 798 | 617 | NA |
| Cost of hospital stay, median (IQR), $US | 28 289 (21 226-38 568) | 16 461 (11 276-22 019) | <.001b |
| Age at time of breast reconstruction, median (IQR), y | 51 (45-57) | 50 (44-56) | .39 |
| Length of stay, median (IQR), d | 4 (4-5) | 4 (3-5) | <.001b |
| Insurance type, No. (%) | |||
| Medicare | 63 (7.9) | 45 (7.3) | .01b |
| Medicaid | 52 (6.5) | 46 (7.5) | |
| Private | 668 (83.7) | 496 (80.4) | |
| Other | 15 (1.9) | 30 (4.9) | |
| Median household income national quartile, No. (%) | |||
| First | 65 (8.1) | 57 (9.2) | <.001b |
| Second | 125 (15.7) | 58 (9.4) | |
| Third | 192 (24.1) | 116 (18.8) | |
| Fourth | 402 (50.4) | 352 (57.1) | |
| Race/ethnicity, No. (%) | |||
| White | 573 (71.8) | 442 (71.6) | <.001b |
| Black | 27 (3.4) | 59 (9.6) | |
| Hispanic | 76 (9.5) | 61 (9.9) | |
| Other minorities | 73 (9.1) | 48 (7.8) | |
| Unspecified | 49 (6.1) | 7 (1.1) | |
| Hospital volume, No. (%) | |||
| ≤10 | 197 (24.7) | 284 (46.0) | <.001b |
| 11-30 | 289 (36.2) | 202 (32.7) | |
| ≥31 | 312 (39.1) | 131 (21.2) | |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index, No. (%) | |||
| 0 | 445 (55.8) | 223 (36.1) | <.001b |
| 1 | 60 (7.5) | 30 (4.9) | |
| ≥2 | 293 (36.7) | 364 (59.0) | |
| Teaching hospital, No. (%) | |||
| Yes | 552 (69.2) | 567 (91.9) | <.001b |
| No | 246 (30.8) | 50 (8.1) | |
| Hospital type, No. (%) | |||
| Government | 562 (70.4) | 617 (100) | <.001b |
| Private | 236 (29.6) | 0 | |
| Surgical complications, No. (%) | |||
| Yes | 182 (22.8) | 153 (24.8) | .38 |
| No | 616 (77.2) | 464 (75.2) | |
| Systemic complications, No. (%) | |||
| Yes | 201 (25.2) | 174 (28.2) | .20 |
| No | 597 (74.8) | 443 (71.8) | |
| Hospital bed size, No. (%) | |||
| Small | 71 (8.9) | 83 (13.5) | <.001b |
| Medium | 73 (9.1) | 91 (14.7) | |
| Large | 654 (82.0) | 443 (71.8) |
Abbreviations: IQR, interquartile range; NA, not applicable.
a
From the 2008 to 2012 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project National Inpatient Sample database. Some numbers do not sum to heading totals because of missing values.
b
Statistically significant at 95% level.