Prolongation of hospital stay and extra costs due to hospital-acquired infection in a neonatal unit

• Published in: The Journal of hospital infection Vol. 35; no. 1; pp. 37 - 45
• Main Authors: Leroyer, A., Bedu, A., Lombrail, P., Desplanques, L., Diakite, B., Bingen, E., Aujard, Y., Brodin, M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kent Elsevier Ltd 1997; Elsevier
• Subjects: Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy; Biological and medical sciences; Birth Weight; Case-Control Studies; Catheterization, Central Venous - adverse effects; costs; Cross Infection - economics; Cross Infection - etiology; Emergency and intensive care: neonates and children. Prematurity. Sudden death; Gestational Age; health economics; Hospital Costs; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Infection Control; Intensive care medicine; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal - economics; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal - statistics & numerical data; Length of Stay - economics; Medical sciences; neonatology; Paris; Risk Factors; costs; neonatology; case—control studies; Infection control; health economics; Human; Nosocomial infection; Newborn; Health economy; Neonatology; Hospital ward; Duration; Hospitalization; Case control study; Public health
• ISSN: 0195-6701; 1532-2939
• DOI: 10.1016/S0195-6701(97)90166-3

A case-control study to evaluate the mean extra stay and corresponding cost of neonates acquiring a hospital-acquired infection (HAI) was performed on all patients admitted to a neonatology unit and discharged alive in 1994. Cases were identified from medical records. Controls were matched to cases for birthweight, gestational age, mode of admission to the unit, previous stay in an intensive care unit and presence of a central venous catheter. Costs were taken as those of the extra days attributable to HAI, i.e. the mean difference in the length of stay between cases and controls. Among a cohort of 616 neonates, 34 (5·5%) had one or more HAIs (average = 1·1). The mean extra cost per infected case was 52 192 FF (US$10440), corresponding to 5·2 extra days in hospital.