Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-v2bm5 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-22T11:03:07.990Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

High Cost Nosocomial Infections

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Robert W. Pinner ,
Robert W. Haley ,
Brent A. Blumenstein ,
Dennis R. Schaberg ,
Stephen D. Von Allmen  and
John E. McGowan Jr
Robert W. Pinner
Affiliation:
Departments of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and Biometry, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgiaand the, Hospital Infection Branch, Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia
Robert W. Haley
Affiliation:
Departments of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and Biometry, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgiaand the, Hospital Infection Branch, Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia
Brent A. Blumenstein
Affiliation:
Departments of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and Biometry, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgiaand the, Hospital Infection Branch, Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia
Dennis R. Schaberg
Affiliation:
Departments of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and Biometry, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgiaand the, Hospital Infection Branch, Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia
Stephen D. Von Allmen
Affiliation:
Departments of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and Biometry, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgiaand the, Hospital Infection Branch, Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia
John E. McGowan Jr*
Affiliation:
Departments of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and Biometry, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgiaand the, Hospital Infection Branch, Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia
*
Epidemiology Department (Box I), Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta, Georgia30303
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The average charge per patient due to nosocomial infection for 215 nosocomial infections in 183 study patients was $693. These costs, however, were concentrated in very few patients; 5% of patients accounted for nearly one-third of total charges. The 10% of patients with highest nosocomial infection costs were patients on Medical or Surgical services; these services were utilized in 71% of patients with nosocomial infection and accounted for 86% of the attributable charges. Among the 22 most costly infections, 17 occurred in surgical wounds and lower respiratory tract. Although these sites accounted for 46% of the infections, they resulted in 77% of the total nosocomial infection charges. Patients with a primary diagnosis of injury had particularly costly infections. Combined analysis of these variables revealed two groups for whom nosocomial infections were especially costly: surgical patients who acquired wound infections after injuries, and medical patients with lower respiratory infections.

Type
Original-Articles
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 3 , Issue 2 , March/April 1982 , pp. 143 - 149
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1982

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

Division of Infectious Diseases of the Department of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

References

1. Spengler, RF, Greenough, WB III. Hospital costs and mortality attributed to nosocomial bacteremias. JAMA 1978; 240:2455–2458.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2. Freeman, J, Rosner, BA, McGowan, JE Jr. Adverse effects of nosocomial infection. J Infect Dis 1979; 140:732–740.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3. Haley, RW, Schaberg, DR, Von Allman, SD, McGowan, JE Jr. Estimating the extra charges and prolongation of hospitalization due to nosocomial infections: A comparison of methods. J Infect Dis 1980; 141:248–257.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4. Scheckler, WE. Hospital costs of nosocomial infections: A prospective three-month study in a community hospital. Infect Control 1980; 1:150–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5. McGowan, JE Jr. Cost and benefit in control of nosocomial infection. Methods for analysis. Rev Infect Dis 1981; 3:790–797.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6. Haley, RW, Schaberg, DR, Crossley, KB, Von Allman, SD, McGowan, JE Jr. Extra charges and prolongation of stay attributable to nosocomial infections: A prospective interhospital comparison. Am J Med 1981; 70:51–58.Google Scholar
7. Haley, RW, Quade, D, Freeman, HE, Bennett, JV, CDC SENIC Planning Committee. Study on the efficacy of nosocomial infection control (SENIC project): Summary of study design. Am J Epidemiol 1980; 111:472–485.Google Scholar
8. Commission on Professional and Hospital Activities: Hospital Adaptation of ICDA (H-ICDA). 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Ann Arbor: The Commission, 1973.Google Scholar
9. Freeman, J, McGowan, JE Jr. Methodologic issues in hospital epidemiology. I. Rates, case-finding, and interpretation. Rev Infect Dis 1981 (in press).Google Scholar
10. Freeman, J, McGowan, JE Jr. Risk factors for nosocomial infection. J Infect Dis 1978; 138:811–819.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11. McGowan, JE Jr, Parrott, PL, Duty, VP. Nosocomial bacteremia: Potential for prevention of procedure-related cases. JAMA 1977; 237:2727–2729.Google Scholar
12. Haley, RW, Schaberg, DR, McClish, DK, Quade, D, Crossley, KB, Culver, DH, Morgan, WM, McGowan, JE Jr, Shachtman, RH. The accuracy of retrospective chart review in measuring nosocomial infection rates: Results of validation studies in pilot hospitals. Am J Epidemiol 1980; 111:516–533.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13. Rose, R, Hunting, KJ, Townsend, TR, Wenzel, RP. Morbidity/mortality and economics of hospital-acquired blood stream infections: A controlled study. South Med J 1977; 70:1267–1269.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14. Townsend, TR, Wenzel, RP. Nosocomial bloodstream infections in a newborn intensive care unit. A case-matched control study of morbidity, mortality, and risk. Am J Epidemiol 1981; 114:73–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15. Zook, CJ and Moore, FD. High-cost users of medical care. N Engl J Med 1980; 302:996–1002.Google Scholar
16. Schroeder, SA, Showstack, JA, Schwartz, J. Survival of adult high-cost patients. Report of a follow-up study from nine acute-care hospitals. JAMA 1981; 245:1446–1449.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17. McNerney, WJ. Control of health-care costs in the 1980's. N Engl J Med 1980; 303:1088–1095.Google Scholar
18. Finkler, SA: The distinction between cost and charges. Ann Intern Med 1982; 96:102–109.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed