Costs of nosocomial pneumonia caused by meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

SummaryNosocomial infections with meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) lead to increased health and economic costs. The purpose of this study was to determine costs for nosocomial MRSA pneumonia compared with meticillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) pneumonia. A case–control study was conducted with patients who acquired nosocomial pneumonia with either MRSA or MSSA between January 2005 and December 2007. Patients were matched for age, severity of underlying disease, stay on intensive care units and non-intensive care units, admission and discharge within the same year, and in-hospital stay at least as long as that of cases before MRSA pneumonia. Our analysis includes 82 patients (41 cases, 41 controls). The overall costs for patients with nosocomial MRSA pneumonia were significantly higher than for patients with MSSA pneumonia (€60,684 vs €38,731; P = 0.01). The attributable costs for MRSA pneumonia per patient were €17,282 (P < 0.001). The financial loss was higher for patients with MRSA pneumonia than for patients with MSSA pneumonia (€11,704 vs €2,662; P = 0.002). More cases died than controls while in the hospital (13 vs 1 death, P < 0.001). Hospital personnel should be aware of the attributable costs of MRSA pneumonia, and should implement control measures to prevent MRSA transmission.