Burden of Childhood Onset Complex Chronic Conditions in Young Adults

Children with complex chronic conditions account for up to 38% of pediatric hospitalizations. 1 Pediatric hospitals and pediatricians have extensive experience managing these children, and both pediatric and community hospitals have strong support structures for these patients and their families.With improvements in medical care, many of these children now survive into adulthood and require transition to an adult specialist and subspecialist.Exploring the burden of many disease processes that present in childhood, such as sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis, and certain cancers, on adult health care systems is becoming increasingly important, as pediatric mortality rates from these diseases have greatly decreased through the early 21st century.In fact, most patients with cystic fibrosis are now living into adulthood, and some countries are anticipating that adults with cystic fibrosis will outnumber children with the disease. 2 More generally, pediatric patients who are tracheostomy dependent are becoming more medically complex.3 Some of these patients will +