A Comparative Cost Analysis of Antibiotic Treatment for Community Acquired Pneumonia (CAP) in Adult Inpatients at Piggs Peak Government Hospital in Swaziland

Abstract

Background: Of the different types of pneumonia, community acquired pneumonia (CAP), has been identified as the leading cause of infectious morbidity and mortality in the western and developing countries. To eradicate the bacterial cause of CAP, medical doctors) often tend to prescribe a differing cocktail of medicine which may be costly for the health care system.Aim: To analyze the cost of oral and/or intravenous antibiotic medicine use in different treatment approaches for treating CAP in adult inpatients from the health care system perspective.Settings: This study was undertaken at Piggs Peak Government Hospital, a 220 bed tertiary hospital located in the rural northern Hhohho region of Swaziland.Method: Seventy-one (n = 71) medical records of adult patients, hospitalized and diagnosed with CAP at Piggs Peak Government Hospital from July 2014 to June 2015, were retrieved and entered into the database once confirmed as having met the selection criteria. Only direct antibiotic medicine(s) costs were considered. The total cost per treatment option was calculated by multipling the unit cost of the medicine by the administration frequency and the length of hospital stay. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the cost difference between more than two treatment options.Results: Medical doctors at Piggs Peak Government Hosptial use a range of antibiotics to treat community acquire pneumonia. Furthermore, doctors prefer using dual antibiotics combination as first line treatment of CAP in adult inpatients. The cost of treating community acquire pneumonia at the hospital ranged from ZAR 70.98 to ZAR 467.60 per adult inpatient admitted into care. A statistically significant difference in the cost of the different treatment approaches used for treating CAP was noted.Conclusion: This cost-exploratory study has highlighted a significant difference in the monetary cost of the differing approaches used for treating CAP at the hospital. It is evident therefore that the use of different treatment approaches in treating CAP significantly influences the cost of CAP treatment. There is therefore need for cost minimization measure to be put in place at the facility.

Household Costs Associated with Hospitalization of Children with Severe Pneumonia in Quito, Ecuador

“…Understanding this burden is critical because, although pneumonia incidence is decreasing globally, 2 it continues to be a leading cause of death in LMIC, including in Ecuador, where it accounts for 12% of yearly deaths in children younger than 5 years. 6,7 Recent research has estimated the economic burden of pneumonia on communities and nations as a whole, [10][11][12][13][14]19 but only a few studies have illuminated the burden of severe pneumonia in young children at the level of those individuals living closest to the child: households. The present study adds to the growing evidence that this burden is considerable, even when pneumonia treatment is intended to be provided at no charge.…”

“…9 The full economic cost of hospitalization for pneumonia treatment, encompassing costs both at the health system (e.g., providers) and household levels, is poorly understood. The cost burden for pneumonia diagnostics and treatment has been estimated to be $109 million per year globally; 3 other studies have estimated the costs of treatment of pneumonia in different settings with varying results, [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] although these typically do not incorporate the economic toll on households. This burden imposes what may amount to substantial payments for consultations, hospital stay, tests, and medicines.…”

Direct medical cost and cost analysis of COVID-19 in Iran: A multicenter cross-sectional study

“…The primary aim of this study was to determine the cost of different services delivered to COVID-19 patients. Like many other cost analysis studies,[ 30 31 32 33 34 ] nonparametric tests were employed. The mean cost of COVID-19 for both men and women was 1434 USD.…”