Jc. Llodracalvo et al., EVALUATION OF THE COST OF AN INTENSIVE-CA RE UNIT - THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE COST WITH THE SEVERITY OF THE DISEASE, Medicina Clinica, 103(2), 1994, pp. 49-53
BACKGROUND: The evaluation of the costs of intensive care is a subject
of interest at present, due to the high resources required by this am
a of health care services and the rhythm at which these costs increase
. Such an evaluation has rarely been carried out in Spain. The alm of
this study was to quantify the cost of medical care to critical patien
ts in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in addition to evaluate the relatio
nship between the severity of the disease and the short term result of
intensive health care. METHODS: A prospective study was carried out i
n 1,184 patients admitted (February 1985-February 1986) to the ICU of
the Hospital General de Especialidades Virgen de las Nieves in Granada
(Spain). Variables collected were the severity of the patient (APACHE
II), therapeutic intensity (TISS) received, diagnosis on admission an
d state on discharge. A detailed and individualized evaluation was per
formed concerning the costs of hospital stay and treatment in the ICU.
RESULTS: The cost per patient per day in the ICU was found to 54,438
pesetas in 1988. A significant association was demonstrated with age,
severity, therapeutic intensity and the result of the stay in the unit
, being much higher in the patients who died in the ICU, particularly
in those in whom the prognosis <<a priori>> was good. CONCLUSIONS: A s
ignificant relation was found between the cost and severity of the dis
ease, with the maximum costs being found in patients in whom survival
was expected but who died and viceversa.