Peer-reviewed article

Neonatal Macroglossia

Jonathan C. Simmonds, Anju K. Patel, Nicholas R. Mildenhall, Nicholas Mader, Andrew R. Scott · 23 Mar 2018

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To examine the birth prevalence of congenital macroglossia and identify demographic variables and comorbidities that may influence length of stay and cost of care. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cross-sectional study using the Kids' Inpatient Database 2003, 2006, 2009, and 2012. METHODS: Demographics were analyzed. Linear regression modeling and multivariate analyses were performed. RESULTS: The birth prevalence of congenital macroglossia was 4.63/100 000 births. Patients were classified as isolated (n = 349, 48.1%) or syndromic (n = 377, 51.9%). A higher incidence of isolated macroglossia was seen in females (odds ratio, OR [95% confidence interval, 95% CI]: 1.93 [1.45-2.56] and African Americans (2.02 [1.41-2.88]). Length of stay was higher for syndromic patients than for nonsyndromic patients (22.6 days [18.6-26.6] vs 7.93 days [5.95-9.90], as were inpatient costs ($3619USD [$27 628-$44 754] vs $10 168USD [$6272-$14 064]. After accounting for gender, race, location, and socioeconomic status, the presence of macroglossia alone increased length of stay by 4.07 days (0.42-7.72 days) in nonsyndromic patients and 12.02 days (3.63-20.4 days) in syndromic patients. The cost of care increased by $6207USD ($576-$11 838) among nonsyndromic newborns and $17 205USD ($374-34 035) among syndromic patients. CONCLUSION: The birth prevalence of congenital isolated macroglossia appears to vary by sex and race. Prolonged length of stay and increased costs are associated with both isolated macroglossia and syndromic macroglossia, even after controlling for other syndromic comorbidities.