ArticleThe Journal of surgical research2026
Age, Financial Hardship, and Catastrophic Health Expenditure After Emergency Surgery.
Article in The Journal of surgical research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionFinancial hardship (FH), defined as the adverse effects of medical costs on patients, is common among trauma and emergency surgery populations. Although government-sponsored insurance programs aim to financially protect older adults, this population remains at risk due to lower incomes and higher health care utilization. We evaluated the association between age and FH among emergency surgery patients.
methodsWe analyzed adults admitted through the emergency department for surgery using the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (2017-2022). Age was the primary exposure, with older adults defined as ≥65 y. Outcomes included FH and catastrophic health expenditure (CHE). FH encompassed difficulty paying medical bills, delayed care, or medication nonadherence due to cost. CHE was defined as out-of-pocket spending exceeding 10% of family income. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted odds.
resultsAmong 2908 patients (weighted n = 4,905,515), 44.4% were older adults. Overall, 30.7% experienced FH, including 35.2% of younger and 25.0% of older adults (P < 0.01). CHE occurred in 12.7% of patients, with higher rates among older adults (15.9% versus 10.2%, P < 0.01). After adjustment, older adults had lower odds of FH (odds ratio: 0.61; 95% confidence interval: 0.40-0.94) but similar odds of CHE (odds ratio 1.35; 95% confidence interval 0.86-2.14) compared to younger patients.
conclusionsOlder adults undergoing emergency surgery report less FH despite experiencing higher rates of CHE. Although subsidized insurance may reduce perceived financial strain, it does not fully protect against high out-of-pocket costs. Policy efforts should focus on improving insurance design to better limit catastrophic expenditures, including appropriate out-of-pocket maximums.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.