Health economic evaluation of patients with sepsis after gastrointestinal tumor surgery-a cost consequences analysis in China.

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the health economics of patients with sepsis after gastrointestinal tumor operation in ICU.

METHODS

This case-control study used 1:1 propensity-score (PS) matched method and patients were matched according to tumor type, age and gender. The study group was composed of 181 patients with sepsis after operation of gastrointestinal tumor in ICU, while the control group was composed of 181 patients without sepsis after operation of gastrointestinal tumor. The medical expenses and length of stay in the hospital of these patients were analyzed.

RESULTS

The median of the total hospitalization cost for the study group was $26,038, which was 1.7 times of the control group (P<0.001). The costs of drugs, laboratory test, examination, treatment, operation, anesthesia, materials, ward and other costs in the study group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.001). The median length of stay in the hospital in the study group was 26 days, which were 12 days longer than that of the control group (P<0.001). However, there was no significant difference in daily average cost between the two groups (P=0.103).

CONCLUSIONS

In ICU, patients with sepsis after operation of gastrointestinal tumor increased the cost of hospitalization and prolonged the length of stay in the hospital than those without sepsis.