Background: Data on clinical and economic impact of health care-associated infections (HAIs) from resource limited countries are limited. We aimed to determine epidemiology and economic impact of HAIs and cost-effectiveness of infection prevention and control measures in a resource-limited setting.
Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted among hospitalized patients at Siriraj Hospital, Thailand. Results from the cohort were subsequently used to conduct cost-effective analysis (CEA) to compare the comprehensive implementation of individualized bundling infection control measures (IBICMs) with regular infection control care.
Results: From February-May 2013, there were 515 hospitalizations (497 patients) with 7,848 hospitalization days. Cumulative incidence of HAIs was 23.30%, and the incidence rate of HAIs was 18.66 ± 44.19 per 1,000 hospitalization days. Hospital mortality among those with and without HAIs was 33.33% and 20.00%, respectively (P < .001). The adjusted cost attributable to HAIs was $704.72 ± $226.73 (P < .001). CEA identified IBICMs as a non-dominated strategy, with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of -$20,444.62 per life saved.
Conclusions: HAI is significantly related with higher hospital mortality, longer length of stay, and higher hospitalization costs. IBICMs were confirmed to be cost-effective at Siriraj Hospital. Implementing this intervention could improve care quality and save costs.
Keywords: Epidemiology; Health care–associated infection; Infection control.
Copyright © 2017 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.