Hospitalizations and emergency room visits for adolescents and young adults with muscular dystrophy living in South Carolina.

Introduction: Transitioning from adolescence to adulthood can be problematic for individuals with rare disabilities such as muscular dystrophy (MD).

Methods: We identified a cohort of 220 individuals with MD and 440 matched comparison individuals and measured emergency room (ER) and inpatient (IP) encounters for the years 2000 through 2010, using all-payer hospital discharge uniform billing data. We compared ER and IP use rates for people with and without MD, and for 15-19-year-olds with MD to 20-24-year-olds with MD.

Results: ER and IP use rates were significantly higher among individuals with MD than the comparison group. In addition, ER and IP use rates were significantly higher in the 20-24-year age group than in the 15-19-year group.

Conclusions: Additional research is needed to determine whether increased ER and IP use in young adults is attributable to difficulties in healthcare transition versus increased disease severity.