The Cost of Surgical Site Infections after Colorectal Surgery in the United States from 2001 to 2012: A Longitudinal Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 142-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Owen Gantz ◽  
Pavel Zagadailov ◽  
Aziz M. Merchant

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are among the most common types of postoperative complications in the United States and are associated with significant prevalence of morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing surgical interventions, especially in colorectal surgery (CRS) where SSI rates are significantly higher than those of similar operative sites. SSIs were identified from the National Inpatient Sample-Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project database from 2001 to 2012 based on the specification of an ICD-9 code. Propensity score matching was used to compare costs associated with SSI cases with those of non-SSI controls among elective and nonelective admissions. Results were projected nationally using Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project sampling methodology to evaluate the incidence of SSIs and ascertain the national cost burden retrospectively. Among 4,851,359 sample-weighted hospitalizations, 4.2 per cent (203,597) experienced SSI. Elective admissions associated with SSI-stayed hospitalized for an average of 7.8 days longer and cost $18,410 more than their counterparts who did not experience an SSI. Nonelective admissions that experienced an SSI had an 8.5-day longer hospital stay and cost $20,890 more than counterparts without perioperative infections. This represents a 3 per cent annual growth in costs for SSIs and seems to be largely driven by cost increases in treatment of SSIs for elective surgeries. Current efforts of SSI management after CRS focused on compliance with guidelines and tracking of infection rates would benefit from some improvements. Considering the growing costs and increase in resource utilization associated with SSIs from 2001 to 2012, further research on costs associated with management of SSIs specific to CRS is necessary.

Author(s):  
Ram C. Neupane ◽  
Jason Turner

Asthma is a common chronic disease in the United States, with increasing prevalence. Many patients do not realize therapeutic goals because of poor disease management. The purpose of this study is to examine the costs of the commonly used drugs used to treat asthma. We examined the contribution of individual, government and private agencies for medication payment. We next compared the prescription cost to the cost of emergency room visits. The data are taken from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. SAS Enterprise Guide was used for preprocessing and data visualization. It was found that prednisone is the cheapest drug and the drug, albuterol, is the most common, even if it is more expensive. The contribution of the government is higher than the amount paid by individuals and other agencies. We examined data from the National Inpatient Sample to investigate trends in asthma as well.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Casey ◽  
Roberto Argo ◽  
Albert Bianco

ABSTRACTBackground & PurposeThe prevalence of acute pancreatitis(AP) has increased over time and is one of the most important gastrointestinal causes of frequent admissions to hospital in the United States. The cost burden of AP has been steadily increasing. The primary objective of our study was to analyze patient demographics, cost burden, mortality and length of stay associated with AP hospital admissions.MethodsNationwide inpatient sample (NIS) database was used to identify AP admissions in all patients from ≥18 years of age from 2001 to 2014 using ICD-9-CM code 577.0 as the principal discharge diagnosisResultsThe number of hospitalizations increased from 215,238 in 2001 to 279,145 in 2014. Inhospital mortality decreased from 1.74% in 2001 to 0.66% in 2014. Mean length of hospital stay has decreased from 6.1 days to 4.6 days during the same period, but the mean hospital charges increased from $19,303 in 2001 to $35,728 in 2014. The proportion of males to females with acute pancreatitis is slowly trending up from 2001 to 2014.ConclusionThe number of hospitalizations due to acute pancreatitis has been steadily increasing, and further research needs to be done on finding out the reasons for increased causes of hospitalization and ways to decrease the cost burden on patients and hospitals.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Casey ◽  
Roberto Argo ◽  
Albert Bianco

Background & Purpose: The prevalence of acute pancreatitis(AP) has increased over time and is one of the most important gastrointestinal causes of frequent admissions to hospital in the United States. The cost burden of AP has been steadily increasing. The primary objective of our study was to analyze patient demographics, cost burden, mortality and length of stay associated with AP hospital admissions.Methods: Nationwide inpatient sample (NIS) database was used to identify AP admissions in all patients from ≥18 years of age from 2001 to 2014 using ICD-9-CM code 577.0 as the principal discharge diagnosisResults: The number of hospitalizations increased from 215,238 in 2001 to 279,145 in 2014. In-hospital mortality decreased from 1.74% in 2001 to 0.66% in 2014. Mean length of hospital stay has decreased from 6.1 days to 4.6 days during the same period, but the mean hospital charges increased from $19,303 in 2001 to $35,728 in 2014. The proportion of males to females with acute pancreatitis is slowly trending up from 2001 to 2014. Conclusion: The number of hospitalizations due to acute pancreatitis has been steadily increasing, and further research needs to be done on finding out the reasons for increased causes of hospitalization and ways to decrease the cost burden on patients and hospitals.


Author(s):  
Sonam Sidhu ◽  
Ava Mandelbaum ◽  
Vishal Dobaria ◽  
Catherine G. Williamson ◽  
Zachary Tran ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Minaal Farrukh ◽  
Haneen Khreis

Background: Traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) refers to the wide range of air pollutants emitted by traffic that are dispersed into the ambient air. Emerging evidence shows that TRAP can increase asthma incidence in children. Living with asthma can carry a huge financial burden for individuals and families due to direct and indirect medical expenses, which can include costs of hospitalization, medical visits, medication, missed school days, and loss of wages from missed workdays for caregivers. Objective: The objective of this paper is to estimate the economic impact of childhood asthma incident cases attributable to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a common traffic-related air pollutant in urban areas, in the United States at the state level. Methods: We calculate the direct and indirect costs of childhood asthma incident cases attributable to NO2 using previously published burden of disease estimates and per person asthma cost estimates. By multiplying the per person indirect and direct costs for each state with the NO2-attributable asthma incident cases in each state, we were able to estimate the total cost of childhood asthma cases attributable to NO2 in the United States. Results: The cost calculation estimates the total direct and indirect annual cost of childhood asthma cases attributable to NO2 in the year 2010 to be $178,900,138.989 (95% CI: $101,019,728.20–$256,980,126.65). The state with the highest cost burden is California with $24,501,859.84 (95% CI: $10,020,182.62–$38,982,261.250), and the state with the lowest cost burden is Montana with $88,880.12 (95% CI: $33,491.06–$144,269.18). Conclusion: This study estimates the annual costs of childhood asthma incident cases attributable to NO2 and demonstrates the importance of conducting economic impacts studies of TRAP. It is important for policy-making institutions to focus on this problem by advocating and supporting more studies on TRAP’s impact on the national economy and health, including these economic impact estimates in the decision-making process, and devising mitigation strategies to reduce TRAP and the population’s exposure.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. iii466-iii466
Author(s):  
Karina Black ◽  
Jackie Middleton ◽  
Sunita Ghosh ◽  
David Eisenstat ◽  
Samor Patel

Abstract BACKGROUND Proton therapy for benign and malignant tumors has dosimetric and clinical advantages over photon therapy. Patients in Alberta, Canada are referred to the United States for proton treatment. The Alberta Heath Care Insurance Plan (AHCIP) pays for the proton treatment and the cost of flights to and from the United States (direct costs). This study aimed to determine the out-of-pocket expenses incurred by patients or their families (indirect costs). METHODS Invitation letters linked to an electronic survey were mailed to patients treated with protons between 2008 and 2018. Expenses for flights for other family members, accommodations, transportation, food, passports, insurance, and opportunity costs including lost wages and productivity were measured. RESULTS Fifty-nine invitation letters were mailed. Seventeen surveys were completed (28.8% response rate). One paper survey was mailed at participant request. Nine respondents were from parent/guardian, 8 from patients. All patients were accompanied to the US by a family member/friend. Considerable variability in costs and reimbursements were reported. Many of the accompanying family/friends had to miss work; only 3 patients themselves reported missed work. Time away from work varied, and varied as to whether it was paid or unpaid time off. CONCLUSIONS Respondents incurred indirect monetary and opportunity costs which were not covered by AHCIP when traveling out of country for proton therapy. Prospective studies could help provide current data minimizing recall bias. These data may be helpful for administrators in assessing the societal cost of out-of-country referral of patients for proton therapy.


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