Costs of Dengue to the Health System and Individuals in Colombia from 2010 to 2012

Abstract

Dengue fever (DF) is an important health issue in Colombia, but detailed information on economic costs to the healthcare system is lacking. Using information from official databases (2010–2012) and a face-to-face survey of 1,483 households with DF and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) patients, we estimated the average cost per case. In 2010, the mean direct medical costs to the healthcare system per case of ambulatory DF, hospitalized DF, and DHF (in Colombian pesos converted to US dollars using the average exchange rate for 2012) were $52.8, $235.8, and $1,512.2, respectively. The mean direct non-medical costs to patients were greater ($29.7, $46.7, and $62.6, respectively) than the mean household direct medical costs ($13.3, $34.8, and $57.3, respectively). The average direct medical cost to the healthcare system of a case of ambulatory DF in 2010 was 57% of that in 2011. Our results highlight the high economic burden of the disease and could be useful for assigning limited health resources.

Economic Burden of Dengue Virus Infection at the Household Level Among Residents of Puerto Maldonado, Peru

“…46 In contrast, these costs were much lower than those reported for Puerto Rico ranging from US$1,764 to US$764 for hospitalized patients and ambulatory cases, respectively, or for Colombia where ambulatory cases averaged US$154.8 and hospitalized cases US$270.8. 43,47 The direct costs of dengue illness that we calculated were similar to those estimated in the state of Zulia, Venezuela, 48 and were less than those estimated for Peru by Shepard and others since they used a societal perspective. The latter study calculated US$259 for outpatients and US$723 for hospitalized cases.…”

“…Direct medical costs were approximately US$48, which was higher than the total costs (US$27, approximately 23% of the average monthly income 41 ) estimated in a study from Kampong Cham Province, Cambodia, 42 and higher than US$35 averaged for direct costs of hospitalized cases of dengue illness in Colombia. 43 It is also in excess of the highest cost for hospitalization with dengue hemorrhagic fever (US$39.1, approximately 12% of the average monthly income 44 ) as reported from a cohort of children in Thailand 45 or the average cost (approximately US$24) for a population of children and adults in the same country. 46 In contrast, these costs were much lower than those reported for Puerto Rico ranging from US$1,764 to US$764 for hospitalized patients and ambulatory cases, respectively, or for Colombia where ambulatory cases averaged US$154.8 and hospitalized cases US$270.8.…”

Análisis exploratorio de ondículas de los patrones de estacionalidad del dengue en Colombia

“…En uno de ellos se estimó que el promedio del costo directo de atención para el 2011 era de USD$ 76,1 en los casos ambulatorios, de USD$ 705,1 en los de pacientes hospitalizados con dengue, y de USD$ 1.115,9 en aquellos de pacientes con dengue grave (5). En el segundo estudio, se estimó que en 2012 el promedio de los costos directos e indirectos por caso ascendía a USD$ 202,3 para la atención ambulatoria del dengue, mientras que, para un caso de paciente hospitalizado o un caso de dengue grave, los costos alcanzaron USD$ 497,9 y USD$ 2.306,7, respectivamente (6).…”

The Burden of Dengue Illness and Its Economics Costs in the Americas: A Review on the Most Affected Countries

“…Similarly, for the Andean territory, we observed that the country with the highest number of reported dengue cases (337,018) and deaths (318) is Colombia (Figure 3). For this country, the cost for patient was calculated using a micro-costing approach that employed the administrative records of the national healthcare system and a household survey conducted by the authors [18].…”