Intensive Care Cost Analysis Of Patients With Acute Exacerbations Of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases From Two University Hospitals

Objective: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a leading cause of death worldwide with a continued rising mortality rate, and it represents a major socioeconomic burden. The aim of this study was to examine the costs of acute exacerbation of COPD patients admitted to two different university hospital intensive care units. Material and Methods: We analyzed 156 patients (128 male and 28 female) who were admitted for treatment of acute exacerbations of COPD from January 1, 2005 to June 15, 2008. Results: The mean age of the patients was 68.2 years. The mean length of hospitalisation stay was 10.4 days. The costs were different between survivors and non-survivors. There was a statistically significant difference between survivors and non-survivors groups in all costs except bed costs, laboratory costs, radiology costs and consultation costs. Conclusion: These results suggest that the cost of patients with acute exacerbations of COPD represents a considerable economic burden for the health care system in Turkey. Turkish Baslik: Kronik Obstruktif Akciger Hastaligi Akut Alevlenmesi Olan Hastalarin Iki Universite Hastanesi Anahtar Kelimeler: Kronik obstruktif akciger hastaligi; akut alevlenme; maliyet analizleri Amac: Kronik obstruktif akciger hastaligi (KOAH) dunya capinda olumlerin ana nedeni olup, mortalite hizi surekli yukselmekte ve onemli sosyoekonomik yuk olusturmaktadir. Bu calismada iki farkli universite hastanesi yogun bakim unitesinde KOAH akut alevlenmesi olan hastalarin maliyetlerinin incelenmesi hedeflenmistir. Gerec ve Yontemler: 1 Ocak 2005 ile 15 Haziran 2008 tarihleri arasinda KOAH akut alevlenmesi nedeniyle tedavi olan 156 hasta (128 erkek ve 28 kadin) analiz edilmistir. Bulgular: Hastalarin ortalama yasi 68.2 olarak bulunmustur. Ortalama hastanede kalis suresi 10.4 gun olarak saptanmistir. Sag kalan ve olen hastalarin maliyetleri birbirlerinden farkli bulunmustur. Sag kalanlar ve olen hastalar arasinda yatak ucreti, laboratuar ucreti, radyoloji ucreti ve konsultasyon ucretleri disindaki diger tum tedavi maliyetlerinde istatistiksel farklilik saptanmistir. Sonuc: KOAH akut alevlenmesi olan hastalarin tedavi maliyetlerinin Turk saglik sistemi icinde hatiri sayilir yer olusturdugunu dusunmekteyiz.