Effects of Race/Ethnicity on appendicitis pain management

Authors

Alfonso Belmonte
Christal Chow
Maria Heubeck
Deirdre Hill
Harry Snow

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

9-17-2020

Abstract

Background:

Race is a well-researched factor that contributes to variation in care of multiple diagnoses such as asthma, antibiotic prescribing, and pain control. This is also true for appendicitis. As the 6th most common cause for inpatient stay, it costs on average of $7,800 per patient. Despite efforts to standardize care, race and ethnicity continue to play a role in treatment and outcomes on pediatric appendicitis.

We hope to further explore the effects that race/ethnicity have in medical care, diagnosis and complications of acute pediatric appendicitis. We hope that identifying these effects will help providers to actively address race/ethnic health disparities in the management of appendicitis.

Methods:

We will perform a retrospective cohort review of Cerner HealthFacts from 2008-2018. Inclusion criteria included acute appendicitis and age 4-18. Exclusion criteria included chronic comorbidities that may potentially mimic appendicitis and any admission to the ICU setting.

Of the cases that meet inclusion criteria, we will evaluate preoperative pain control (ie: type of medication prescribed and timing of medication given); the rate of imaging modality performed; and rate of ruptured appendix among race/ethnicity groups.

The data will be analyzed using a multivariable model adjusted for age and insurance type (SES surrogate indicator) in order to calculate relative risk.

Anticipated Results:

We anticipate that this retrospective cohort review will elucidate race/ethnicity based differences in the choice of imaging modality during the work-up of appendicitis as well as the type and timing of pain management medications prescribed.

Next Steps:

We will be evaluating and statistically analyzing the collected data.

Comments

Presented at the Annual Pediatric Research Forum Poster session. Contact Alfonso Belmonte, ABelmonte@salud.unm.edu for questions.

Recommended Citation

Belmonte, Alfonso; Christal Chow; Maria Heubeck; Deirdre Hill; and Harry Snow. "Effects of Race/Ethnicity on appendicitis pain management." (2020). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/hsc_2020_pediatric_research/21