The costs of hospitalization in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major public health problem. It imparts a substantial economic burden on individuals and society. Acute exacerbations are the main cause of hospital admissions and hospitalizations in patients with COPD in Turkey. Objectives: We aimed to determine the costs of hospitalization in patients with acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD). Results: A total of 7832 (1556 women, 6276 men) patients were hospitalized due to acute exacerbations of COPD between 2005-2009 in the Samsun Chest Diseases and Thoracic Surgery Hospital, northern Turkey. The mean age was 64.6 ± 19.8 years old and median length of hospital stay was 14.8 ± 9.5 days. The mean cost per admission was US$718 ± 364. Drug costs accounted for the largest portion (53.5%) of the mean cost, followed by bed cost (19.6%). One hundred seventy-four (2.2%) of the total hospitalized patients with AECOPD died in hospital. Conclusion: AECOPD continues to have both significant economic burden and high mortality rate. © 2011 Ozkaya et al.