Reasons for Hospitalizations and Emergency Department Visits Among Patients with Essential Tremor

Background: Prior studies suggest that patients with essential tremor (ET) have increased rates of healthcare utilization, but the reason for this increased use is unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate the reasons for healthcare use among ET patients. Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study of ET patients with an admission or emergency department (ED) visit at a tertiary health system from 2018–2023. Patients were matched on an encounter level with control patients based on propensity scores incorporating age, sex, race, and co-morbid conditions. The primary outcome was the odds of an encounter for each diagnostic category comparing ET patients with matched controls. Results: Only inpatient admissions for neurologic diagnoses were more likely for ET compared to control patients (odds ratio (OR) 3.73, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.54 – 5.49, p < 0.001). Once admissions related to the surgical treatment of tremor were excluded, admissions for neurologic diagnoses were equally likely among ET and control patients (OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.59 – 1.57, p = 0.88). Discussion: Surgical treatment of tremor appears to be a key driver of healthcare use among ET patients. Future investigations should examine the pattern of healthcare use of ET patients before and after surgery. Highlights Prior studies have shown increased healthcare use among essential tremor (ET) patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the reasons for healthcare use among ET patients compared to matched control patients. Surgical treatment of tremor was found to be a key driver of healthcare use among ET patients.