Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) have been found to contribute, predominantly, to increasing costs of COPD-a major public health issue. This study aimed to fill the gap in literature concerning costs of AECOPD in Vietnam, by examining the direct cost of AECOPD hospitalization and determining potentially associated factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Respiratory Center of Bach Mai Hospital, Hanoi. A total of 57 participants were selected. Information regarding sociodemographic features, clinical characteristics, and hospitalization costs were collected. A multivariate generalized linear regression model was utilized to determine the factors associated with hospitalization costs. The mean total and daily hospitalization cost were 18.3 million VND (SD = 12.9) and 2.5 million VND (SD = 3.2), respectively. Medication cost accounted for 53.9% of hospitalization cost (from 44.0% in the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease Classification A (GOLD A) to 55.3% in GOLD C). Patients having GOLD D COPD (Coef. = 5.78; 95% CI = 0.73⁻10.83), higher age (Coef. = 0.37; 95% CI = 0.13⁻0.61), and higher duration of hospitalization (Coef. = 1.91; 95% CI = 1.28⁻2.53) had higher hospitalization costs (p < 0.05). This study suggested that interventions to screen COPD patients as well as provide timely treatment should be conducted widely in the community in order to avoid any unnecessary hospitalization cost, consequently reducing the economic burden of COPD.
Keywords: COPD; acute exacerbation; co-morbidity; cost; economics; hospitalization.