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. 2017 Dec;45(5):196-200.
doi: 10.1080/21548331.2017.1384690. Epub 2017 Sep 27.

Hospital costs for patients with lower extremity cellulitis: a retrospective population-based study

Douglas Challener  1 , Jasmine Marcelin  2 , Sue Visscher  3 , Larry Baddour  4
Affiliations

Hospital costs for patients with lower extremity cellulitis: a retrospective population-based study

Douglas Challener et al. Hosp Pract (1995). 2017 Dec.

Abstract

Objectives: Hospital admissions for non-purulent lower extremity cellulitis (NLEC) are common and can be prolonged and costly. Newer treatment options and preventive strategies are expected to result in cost savings before implementation, but few studies have quantified the cost of conventional treatment.

Methods: Using the Rochester Epidemiology Project, the incidence of NLEC in Olmsted County, MN in 2013 was 176.6 per 100,000 persons. The subset of patients who required hospitalization for NLEC in 2013 was determined. Hospital admissions were analyzed retrospectively using standardized cost analysis within several relevant categories.

Results: Thirty-four patients had an average hospital length of stay of 4.7 days. The median total inpatient cost was $7,341. The median cost per day was $2,087, with 49% due to room and board. Antibiotics administered for treatment of NLEC contributed a median cost of $75 per day of hospitalization, and laboratory and imaging test costs were $73 and $44, respectively, per day of hospitalization.

Conclusion: Hospitalizations for NLEC can be costly and prolonged with room and board accounting for much of the cost. Therefore, newer management strategies should seek to reduce hospital length of stay and/or avoid inpatient admission to reduce cost.

Keywords: Lower extremity cellulitis; Rochester epidemiology project; cost; hospitalization; inpatient; population-based.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations of Interests

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of length of stay in cohort.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Total standardized cost of hospitalization vs. length of stay.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Standardized costs by category.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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