The development and use of a method to compare the costs of acute stroke across Europe

Background: there is a need for more information on the costs of different ways of managing stroke. Methods to compare the costs of stroke care in dif ferent countries have not been previously developed. Objective: to develop and use a method to compare the costs of acute stroke care across Europe. Setting: acute hospitals in 13 different European centres. Subjects and methods: we included in the study stroke patients hospitalized during 1996-7 at 13 centres across Europe (n=2072). We recorded the durati on of acute hospital stay and use of investigations. Mean costs for each ce ntre were predicted using linear regression analysis to adjust for case-mix differences. Results: the average acute hospital stay ranged from 9 days (Spain) to 35 d ays (UK; P<0.001). The predicted mean cost of treating conscious, continent men aged >74 ranged from $220 (95% confidence interval 191-254) in Latvia to $5164 (4294-6191) in Austria. Conclusions: differences in the acute costs of stroke exist across Europe b ecause of differences in clinical practice and unit costs. This methodology will be used to capture the costs incurred by a broad range of care provid ers. These estimates will then be suitable for using in cost-effectiveness analysis.