Nosocomial infections among acute leukemia patients in China: An economic burden analysis

•The research is about the economic burden analysis of nosocomial infections among acute leukemia patients in China.•Our study indicated that nosocomial infections were associated with higher extra medical costs and longer duration of hospital stay, which significantly imposed a substantial economic burden on patients and lead to waste of unnecessary healthcare resources.•This study is an extension of our previous work on nosocomial infections of different diseases, such as renal transplantation, haemodialysis and cardiovascular disease, etc.

BackgroundThe economic burden associated nosocomial infections (NIs) in patients with acute leukemia (AL) in China was unclear. A prospective study was conducted to quantify the medical cost burden of NIs among AL patients.MethodsNine hundred ninety-four patients diagnosed with AL between January 2011 and December 2013 were included. Relevant necessary information was extracted from the hospital information system and hospital infection surveillance system. The primary outcome was incidence of NIs and the secondary was economic burden results, including extra medical costs and prolonged length of stay (LOS). We estimated the total incremental cost of NIs by comparing all-cause health care costs in patients with versus without infections. Prolonged duration of stay was compared in patients with different infections.ResultsOf 994 patients with AL, 277 (27.9%) experienced NIs. NI was associated with a total incremental cost of $3,092 per patient ($5,227 vs $2,135; P < .01) and infected patients experienced a longer LOS (21 vs 10 days; P < .01). Patients with multisite infection had the highest total medical cost ($8,474.90 vs $2,209.90; P < .01) and the longest LOS (25 vs 15 days; P < .01). Western medicine was the main contributor to the rise of total cost in all kinds of infections.ConclusionsNI was associated with higher medical costs, which imposed an economic burden on patients with AL. The study highlights the influence of NIs on LOS and health care costs and appeal to the establishment of prophylactic measures for NIs to reduce the unnecessary waste of medical resources in the long run.