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We performed a retrospective analysis of hospital discharges for children with autism, in comparison to children with cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, mental retardation/intellectual disability, and the general population. Hospitalizations for autism increased nearly threefold over 10 years, especially at the oldest ages, while hospitalizations for the other groups did not change. Leading discharge diagnoses for each age group in children with autism included mental health and nervous system disorders. Older age, Caucasian ethnicity, and living in a region with a high number of pediatric beds predicted hospitalizations associated with mental health diagnoses. These findings underscore the need for comprehensive clinical services that address the complex needs of children with autism to prevent costly hospitalizations.

OBJECTIVE To examine inpatient intensive care unit (ICU) and intensive procedure use by race among Medicare decedents, using utilization among survivors for comparison. DESIGN Retrospective observational analysis of inpatient claims using multivariable hierarchical logistic regression. SETTING United States, 1989–1999. PARTICIPANTS Hospitalized Medicare fee-for-service decedents (n = 976,220) and survivors (n = 845,306) aged 65 years or older. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Admission to the ICU and use of one or more intensive procedures over 12 months, and, for inpatient decedents, during the terminal admission. Black decedents with one or more hospitalization in the last 12 months of life were slightly more likely than nonblacks to be admitted to the ICU during the last 12 months (49.3% vs. 47.4%, p