Characterizing emergency department and inpatient health care utilization after seizure‐related hospitalization: A retrospective cohort study

Abstract Objective Seizure care is a significant driver of health care costs in both emergency department (ED) and inpatient settings, but the majority of studies have focused on inpatient admissions as the only metric of health care utilization. This study aims to better characterize ED and inpatient encounters among patients with seizure to inform care and policy. Methods Using statewide administrative data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Databases and State Emergency Department Databases from Florida and New York, we identified patients with a seizure‐related index hospitalization between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2018. Among this cohort, we examined the incidence and characteristics of subsequent acute care visits in the ED and inpatient settings for 365 days after initial hospital discharge. Results A total of 54 456 patients had an eligible seizure‐related hospitalization. Patients were 49% female, predominantly White (64%) and non‐Hispanic (84%), and used a public primary payer (68%). There were 36 838 (68%) patients with at least one acute care visit in the year following discharge. Overall, patients had a median of 2 (interquartile [IQR] = 1–5) subsequent acute care visits and the median time to first acute care visit was 53 days (IQR = 15–138). Of the 154 369 subsequent acute care visits, 97 399 (63%) were ED‐only visits, 56 970 (37%) were readmissions, and 37 176 (24%) were seizure‐related. There were 18 786 patients (35%) with four or more acute care visits over 365 days of follow‐up. Patients with four or more visits contributed 84% of acute care visits and 78% of costs after initial hospitalization. Significance The majority of patients hospitalized for seizure return to the ED or hospital at least once in the year after discharge. A small portion of patients account for the majority of ED and inpatient visits as well as health care costs associated with this population, identifying a subgroup of patients who may benefit from improved inpatient and outpatient management.