A study published in Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control examined the cost-benefit of a national Clostridioides difficile infection prevention program.
Researchers used a net present value model to investigate the costs and benefits associated with antibiotic stewardship programs. They incorporated treatment costs, intervention costs, healthcare-associated C. diff infection cases, attributable deaths and the value of statistical life into the model.
The study shows that when values for morbidity and mortality risk reductions are ignored, the total net benefits of the intervention range from $300 million to $7.6 billion between 2015 and 2020.
When the values are included, the net social benefits to the healthcare system from $21 billion to $624 billion, with the annualized net benefit of $25.5 billion
After including those values, the net social benefits of the intervention range from $21 billion to $624 billion, with the annualized net benefit of $25.5 billion in the researchers' most likely outcome scenario.