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Research Spotlights
More than 1,100 peer-reviewed journal publications feature data, software products, and tools from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP).
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Research Spotlights

More than 1,100 peer-reviewed journal publications feature data, software products, and tools from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). Often, this research impacts healthcare policy, practice, and future research. Here are a few recent examples:

To view previous examples of research spotlights, please refer to the Research Spotlights Archives
Maternal and fetal outcomes among women with depression.
Bansil P, Kuklina EV, Meikle SF, Posner SF, Kourtis AP, Ellington SR, et al.
J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2010 Feb;19(2):329-34.
    This study uses hospital discharge data from the 1998-2005 Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) to evaluate delivery-related hospitalizations for select maternal and fetal outcomes, such as cesarean delivery, preterm labor, anemia, diabetes, anemia, and fetal distress, among women with and without diagnosed depression at the time of delivery.

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Identifying high-quality bariatric surgery centers: hospital volume or risk-adjusted outcomes?
Dimick JB, Osborne NH, Nicholas L, Birkmeyer JD.
Journal of the American College of Surgeons. 2009 Dec;209(6):702-6.
    Using the State Inpatient Databases (SID) from New York, this study evaluates whether risk-adjusted outcomes or hospital volume are better at predicting future hospital morbidity with bariatric surgery.

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Cardiomyopathy and other myocardial disorders among hospitalizations for pregnancy in the United States: 2004-2006.
Kuklina EV, Callaghan WM.
Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2010 Jan;115(1):93-100.
    This study uses the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) to estimate the rate of pregnancy hospitalizations for women with two groups of myocardial disorders, cardiomyopathy and other myocardial disorders, and report the rate of severe obstetric complications among these hospitalizations in delivery and postpartum periods.

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Empyema hospitalizations increased in US children despite pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.
Li ST, Tancredi DJ.
Pediatrics. 2010 Jan;125(1):26-33.
    This analysis uses the Kids’ Inpatient Database (KID) to determine if the incidence of empyema among children in the United States has changed since the introduction of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in 2000.

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Econometric modeling of health care costs and expenditures: a survey of analytical issues and related policy considerations.
Mullahy J.
Medical Care. 2009 Jul;47(7 Suppl 1):S104-8.
    This study uses hospital charge data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) to illustrate important conceptual and analytical issues involved in econometric healthcare cost modeling.

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Demographic variability, vaccination, and the spatiotemporal dynamics of rotavirus epidemics.
Pitzer V, Viboud C, Simonsen L, Steiner C, Panozzo C, Alonso W, Miller M, Glass R, Glasser J, Parashar U, Grenfell B.
Science. 2009 Jul 17;325(5938):290-4.
    Using the State Inpatient Databases (SID) from 16 states, researchers developed an age- and state-stratified transmission model for rotavirus to test whether the spatiotemporal signature of epidemics could be generated by geographic variability in birth rate.

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Testing the Association Between Patient Safety Indicators and Hospital Structural Characteristics in VA and Nonfederal Hospitals.
Rivard PE, Elixhauser A, Christiansen CL, Zhao S, Rosen AK.
Medical Care Research and Review. 2009 Oct 30.
    This analysis uses the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) and AHRQ Patient Safety Indicators (PSI) to test the association between hospital structural characteristics-teaching status, bedsize, and nurse staffing-and potentially preventable adverse events.

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Use of emergency departments for conditions related to poor oral healthcare: implications for rural and low-resource urban areas for three states.
Shortridge EF Moore JR.
Journal of Public Health Management and Practice. 2009 May-Jun;15(3):238-45.
    This study uses the State Emergency Department Databases (SEDD) from three states to investigate the use of emergency departments (EDs) for problems that might have been prevented given adequate oral healthcare.

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Disparities in the use of ambulatory surgical centers: A cross sectional study.
Strope SA, Sarma A, Ye S, Wei JT, Hollenbeck BK.
BMC Health Services Research. 2009 Jul;9(121):1-7.
    Using the Florida State Ambulatory Surgery Database (SASD), this study evaluates the relationship between socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, and the use of ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs).

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Trends and outcomes of hospitalizations for peptic ulcer disease in the United States, 1993 to 2006.
Wang YR, Richter JE, Dempsey DT.
Annals of Surg. 2010 Jan;251(1):51-8.
    This analysis uses the 1993-2006 Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) to examine time trends of hospitalizations and operations for Peptic Ulcer Disease, including rates of complications, procedures, diseased sites, and mortality.

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A comprehensive list of publications based on HCUP data are available within the HCUP section of the AHRQ Web site. Publications are listed by author. Information includes title, publication, data, and sometimes access to an abstract.
Internet Citation: Research Spotlights. Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). June 2010. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/spotlights.jsp.
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Last modified 6/16/10