Hospitals charge an average of $34,000 to $68,000 for the 10 most expensive conditions in inpatients, exclusive of physician and other professional fees, rehabilitation costs or expenses for follow-up and home health services, according to the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The national statistics show what community hospitals charged, on average, in 1997, not what they were paid.

Four of the top 10 most expensive conditions treated in hospitals are related to the care of infants with complications; two stem from trauma and three involve the circulatory system. Leukemia and central nervous system infections are also in the top ten.

To download a reproducible chart of conditions with the highest mean charges and corresponding mean lengths of stay, select http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2000/hospchart1.pdf . The chart is based on data from Hospitalization in the United States, 1997.