[Trauma craneal no accidental en niños: costo económico directo de la atención médica en un hospital de tercer nivel].

INTRODUCTION

Abusive head trauma (AHT) is an extreme form of physical abuse that is produced by abruptly shaking an infant or toddler.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the direct economic cost of care during hospitalization of 14 children with confirmed diagnosis of AHT in a pediatric hospital.

METHOD

Analysis of the cost of disease in patients with AHT attended to between 2001 and 2010. Partial direct economic cost of medical care (days of hospital stay, laboratory tests and imaging studies, surgical procedures and subspecialist consultations) was calculated adjusting for inflation, with year 2001 taken as base year. Patients were classified in three groups (moderate, severe and fatal AHT). Descriptive and sensitivity analysis was carried out.

RESULTS

Patients with severe AHT generated higher medical care costs ($105,794.88 ± 33,201.91) in comparison with the group of moderate ($37,012.95, ± 7,154.87) and fatal AHT ($18,595.04 ± 6424.47) (p <0.05). Total cost was $665,467.98 Mexican pesos ($71,249.25 international dollars).

CONCLUSIONS

Total cost for the 14 patients was an elevated figure, as in other parts of the world. The direct economic cost is closely related to the severity of the clinical presentation.