Direct costs during the first year after intracerebral hemorrhage

Objectives: Knowledge of resource use and associated costs of treatment, care and rehabilitation at hospitals and in the health care and social service sectors is limited. This study presents data on the total resource use during the first year after spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. Methods: All patients hospitalized because of stroke at a university hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark, during a 1‐year period 1994–1995 were included in a database. The patients were followed until 1 year after the stroke, and data on resource use during and after the hospital stay were collected prospectively. This study investigates a subgroup comprising 90 patients with intracerebral hemorrhage. Resource use is described and costs are calculated. Results: The cost of the hospital stay including acute care and rehabilitation had a mean of 90 200 DKK (US$16 100). The total cost of health care and social services during the first year had a mean of 123 200 DKK (US$22 000). Costs decreased significantly with age, but when differences of 30 days case fatality between age groups were considered, the association between costs and age disappeared. Conclusions: The mean cost of treatment, care and rehabilitation during the first year after intracerebral hemorrhage was 123 200 DKK, of which the primary hospital stay constituted 73%.