Study of social disparities in pediatric laparoscopic appendectomy outcomes and cost

PURPOSE: There is an increasing focus on racial and social disparities in health care. There have been several studies that have documented disparities in outcome between racial groups in the adult literature. Not much is known about disparities in outcomes after surgical procedures in children. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of race on complications (outcomes) and costs after laparoscopic appendectomy. METHODS: This study is a single-center retrospective chart review of 248 pediatric patients who underwent appendectomies for uncomplicated acute appendicitis from 2015 to 2017. Patients were divided into minority (Africa American or Hispanic) and non-minority groups, and length of stay, preoperative and postoperative factors, and total costs were compared. RESULTS: Of 185 eligible patients, 45.9% (n = 85) were of Hispanic or African American ethnicity and 54.1% (n = 100) were Caucasian. About 11.8% of minority patients had comorbidities and 12% of majority patients had comorbidities (p = 1). Readmission rate for minority group patients was 3.5% (n = 3) and 2% (n = 2) for majority patients (p = 0.7). The average cost of hospital stay for minority patients was $30,900 and for majority patients was $31,111 (p = 0.59). CONCLUSIONS: Standardization of care protocols has reduced social/racial disparities in surgical outcomes. In the most common pediatric surgery emergency procedure, laparoscopic appendectomy, there were no differences in outcomes or costs between minority (Hispanic/Africa American) and Caucasian ethnic groups. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III TYPE OF STUDY: Clinical Study