A recently released study estimates that total annual costs for five major healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are $9.8 billion, with surgical site infections contributing the most to overall costs. The report was published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Researchers reviewed published medical literature for the years 1986 through April 2013. For HAI incidence estimates, they used the National Healthcare Safety Network of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They found that, on a per-case basis, the central line-associated bloodstream infections were found to be the most costly HAIs at $45,814, followed by ventilator-associated pneumonia at $40,144, surgical site infections at $20,785, Clostridium difficile infection at $11,285, and catheter-associated urinary tract infections at $896.
Lead author Eyal Zimlichman, MD, MSc, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard Medical School, and colleagues note, “As one of the most common sources of preventable harm, healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) represent a major threat to patient safety. The purpose of this study was to generate estimates of the costs associated with the most significant and targetable HAIs.” Read the study abstract.
