Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
3059820 | Journal of Clinical Neuroscience | 2014 | 4 Pages |
The risks of morbidity and mortality are high in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH). The medical care resources associated with sICH are also substantial. This study aimed to evaluate the medical expenditure for sICH patients in Taiwan. We analyzed the National Health Insurance Research Database from 2005 to 2010. The inclusion criterion was first-event sICH; traumatic ICH patients were excluded. Student’s t-test, multiple linear regression and the chi-squared test were employed as the statistical methods. Our results showed that the incidence of sICH was 40.77 patients per 100,000 of population per year in Taiwan. The incidence increased with age and was greater in men than women. The mean hospital length of stay (LOS) of first-event sICH patients was 31.8 days; the mean LOS in the intensive care unit was 7.9 days; and the mean survival time was 60.4 months. The mortality rate within 30 days and within 1 year was 19.8 and 29.6%, respectively. The mean hospital expenditure of first-event sICH patients was USD$7572, and was highly correlated with LOS. In conclusion, the incidence of sICH in Taiwan is higher than that in white and black populations of northern America and some European countries and lower than that in the Asian populations of Japan and China. The features of male and female sICH patients differ. Our findings suggest that the hospital expenditure and mortality rate of sICH patients in Taiwan are comparable with those of other countries.