Rural–Urban Disparities in Intracerebral Hemorrhage Mortality in the USA: Preliminary Findings from the National Inpatient Sample

Objectives To compare in-hospital mortality between intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) patients in rural hospitals to those in urban hospitals of the USA. Methods We used the National Inpatient Sample to retrospectively identify all cases of ICH in the USA over the period 2004–2014. We used multivariable-adjusted models to compare odds of mortality between rural and urban hospitals. Joinpoint regression was used to evaluate trends in age- and sex-adjusted mortality in rural and urban hospitals over time. Results From 2004 to 2014, 5.8% of ICH patients were admitted in rural hospitals. Rural patients were older (mean [SE] 76.0 [0.44] years vs. 68.8 [0.11] years in urban), more likely to be white and have Medicare insurance. Age- and sex-adjusted mortality was greater in rural hospitals (32.2%) compared to urban patients (26.5%) ( p value