Hospital-based emergency department visits with oral candidiasis in the USA

Objectives. The aim of this study was to determine the number of hospital Emergency Department (ED) visits with a diagnosis of oral candidiasis for the year 2007 in the USA and to identify the comorbid conditions associated with it. Study Design. The Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) for 2007 was employed in this study. Patients who visited the ED with a diagnosis of oral candidiasis were selected, and the estimates were projected to the national levels using the discharge weights. Presence of comorbid conditions in these patients was also determined. Results. A total of 249,092 ED visits had oral candidiasis. Most of the patients belonged to the lower socioeconomic strata. Patients presented with a wide range of comorbid conditions and a large percentage of the patients were subsequently hospitalized after ED visits. Conclusions. A significant number of patients in the US visited the ED with oral candidiasis in the year 2007. (Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol 2012;114:e26-e31)