Nosocomial Infections (NIs), often colloquially known as hospital-acquired infections, have a significant impact on patient outcomes, increasing both mortality rates and the deterioration of health-related quality of life. Above and beyond these daunting repercussions, NIs exert considerable economic pressure on the healthcare segments, particularly hospitals. For instance, these infections cause extended hospital stays, resulting in increased bed occupation times, and consequently, drive up opportunity costs for healthcare facilities.
This economic analysis for a German hospital draws its data from routine records created by the hospital’s surgical and orthopedic departments. It uses genetic matching to establish a thorough balance and uses linear regression for estimating differences in the length of stay and the daily revenue between patients afflicted with NIs compared to those without.
Interestingly, the study discloses that patients with NIs had a significantly longer length of stay (LOS) and a lower daily revenue. Moreover, the frequency of surgeries and comorbidities appeared to critically influence the LOS. Furthermore, assuming a 30-50% preventability of NIs, preventing just one instance of NI could potentially shorten a hospital stay by 3-5 days and increase hospital revenue by up to €200 per day.
Consequently, the hospital would be able to utilize 3-5 more bed-days effectively, increasing revenue, or optimizing resource allocation by adjusting bed capacity and personnel distribution. The opportunity costs saved by each prevention can exceed €1,000 per case. From a healthcare economics perspective, there is a compelling incentive for hospitals to implement infection control interventions.
Considering the prevalence and impact of NIs in Germany and the European Union, successful prevention could notably alleviate both the clinical burden and the economic strain on the healthcare system.
Source: https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-024-10176-8