Challener Douglas, Marcelin Jasmine, Visscher Sue, Baddour Larry
a Internal Medicine , Mayo Clinic , Rochester , MN , USA.
b Infectious Diseases , University of Nebraska Medical Center , Omaha , NE , USA.
Hosp Pract (1995). 2017 Dec;45(5):196-200. doi: 10.1080/21548331.2017.1384690. Epub 2017 Sep 27.
Hospital admissions for non-purulent lower extremity cellulitis (NLEC) are common and can be prolonged and costly. Newer treatment options and preventive strategies are expected to result in cost savings before implementation, but few studies have quantified the cost of conventional treatment.
Using the Rochester Epidemiology Project, the incidence of NLEC in Olmsted County, MN in 2013 was 176.6 per 100,000 persons. The subset of patients who required hospitalization for NLEC in 2013 was determined. Hospital admissions were analyzed retrospectively using standardized cost analysis within several relevant categories.
Thirty-four patients had an average hospital length of stay of 4.7 days. The median total inpatient cost was $7,341. The median cost per day was $2,087, with 49% due to room and board. Antibiotics administered for treatment of NLEC contributed a median cost of $75 per day of hospitalization, and laboratory and imaging test costs were $73 and $44, respectively, per day of hospitalization.
Hospitalizations for NLEC can be costly and prolonged with room and board accounting for much of the cost. Therefore, newer management strategies should seek to reduce hospital length of stay and/or avoid inpatient admission to reduce cost.
非脓性下肢蜂窝织炎（NLEC）的住院治疗很常见，且可能持续时间长、费用高。新的治疗方案和预防策略在实施前有望节省成本，但很少有研究对传统治疗的成本进行量化。
利用罗切斯特流行病学项目，2013年明尼苏达州奥尔姆斯特德县NLEC的发病率为每10万人176.6例。确定了2013年因NLEC需要住院治疗的患者子集。采用标准化成本分析对几个相关类别的住院情况进行回顾性分析。
34例患者的平均住院时间为4.7天。住院总费用中位数为7341美元。每天的费用中位数为2087美元，其中49%用于食宿。治疗NLEC所用抗生素的住院日费用中位数为每天75美元，实验室检查和影像学检查费用分别为每天73美元和44美元。
NLEC的住院治疗可能成本高昂且持续时间长，其中食宿占了大部分费用。因此，新的管理策略应寻求缩短住院时间和/或避免住院以降低成本。
