Health Economics Unit, School of Health and Population Sciences, University of Birmingham, Public Health Building, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.
Eur J Health Econ. 2011 Aug;12(4):319-29. doi: 10.1007/s10198-010-0239-1. Epub 2010 Apr 3.
The objectives of this study were to estimate the resource use and cost of treating acute cough/lower respiratory tract infection (acute cough/LRTI) in 13 European countries, to explore reasons for differences in cost and to document the challenges that researchers face when collecting information on cost alongside multinational studies. Data on resource use and cost were collected alongside an observational study in 14 primary care networks across 13 European countries and a mean cost was generated for each network. The results show that the mean cost (standard deviation) of treating acute cough/LRTI in Europe ranged from euro23.88 (34.67) in Balatonfüred (Hungary) to euro116.47 (34.29) in Jonkoping (Sweden). The observed differences in costs were statistically significant (P < 0.01). Major cost drivers include general practitioner visits and drug costs in all networks, whilst differences in health systems and regional factors could account for differences in cost between networks. The major barrier to conducting multinational cost studies are barriers associated with identifying cost information.
本研究的目的是评估在 13 个欧洲国家治疗急性咳嗽/下呼吸道感染（acute cough/LRTI）的资源利用和成本，探讨成本差异的原因，并记录研究人员在跨国研究中收集成本信息时面临的挑战。在 13 个欧洲国家的 14 个初级保健网络中进行了一项观察性研究，并收集了资源利用和成本数据，为每个网络生成了平均成本。结果表明，欧洲治疗急性咳嗽/下呼吸道感染的平均成本（标准差）范围从匈牙利巴拉顿菲尔德的 23.88 欧元（34.67）到瑞典延雪平的 116.47 欧元（34.29）。观察到的成本差异具有统计学意义（P < 0.01）。主要成本驱动因素包括所有网络中的全科医生就诊和药物成本，而卫生系统和地区因素的差异可能导致网络之间的成本差异。进行跨国成本研究的主要障碍是与识别成本信息相关的障碍。
