Researchers from the University of Toronto have determined the economic impact Clostridium difficile infections have on hospitals and published their findings in The American Journal of Gastroenterology.
The researchers performed literature studies in six medical databases and identified 45 cost-of-illness studies published between 1988 and June 2014. Most (84 percent) of the studies were from the U.S., although the researchers also used studies from Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Japan and the U.K.
Analyzing these studies, the researchers found an attributable mean C. diff cost that ranged from $8,911 to $30,049 per hospitalized patient.
"Decision-makers can use cost-of-illness studies to aid in strategic planning, and researchers can incorporate [cost-of-illness] estimates in economic evaluations that, in turn, inform health policy," wrote the study authors.
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