Trends in stress urinary incontinence inpatient procedures in the United States, 1979-2004

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe national trends in surgery for female stress urinary incontinence (SUI). We used data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey, a federal dataset sampling patient discharges from US inpatient hospitals. We analyzed patient and hospital demographics and International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) diagnostic and procedures codes for 1979-2004. Age-adjusted rates per 1000 women were calculated with 1990 US Census population data. The number of women who have undergone SUI surgery each year increased from 48,345 in 1979 to 103,467 in 2004. In women > or = 52 years old, the age-adjusted rate more than doubled from 0.64-1.60 procedures per 1000 women; in women < 52 years old, the age-adjusted rate fell from 0.57-0.47. Age-adjusted rates for retropubic urethral suspension (ICD-9-CM, 59.5) fell from 0.37 in 1979 to 0.14 in 2004. For suprapubic sling procedures (ICD-9-CM, 59.4), the age-adjusted rates rose from 0.02 in 1979 to a peak of 0.10 in 1997 and then fell to 0.03 in 2004. Age-adjusted rates for other repair of urinary stress incontinence (ICD-9-CM, 59.79) rose from 0.06 in 1979 to 0.64 in 2004. The number of women who have undergone SUI surgery increased significantly from 1979-2004. Because the National Hospital Discharge Survey data do not include ambulatory procedures, accurate information on same-day surgeries is unavailable. Currently no ICD-9-CM procedure code exists specifically for midurethral sling procedures. Both missed sampling of same-day procedures and nonspecific or inaccurate coding may explain the surprising decline in suprapubic sling procedures and the rise in rates of other repair of SUI. A national ambulatory surgical database and a specific code for midurethral sling are needed to capture these important data.