The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with a tremendous financial and social impact. The pressure on healthcare systems worldwide has increased with each pandemic wave. The present study assesses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare-derived costs of critically ill patients during the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in a tertiary hospital in Romania. We prospectively included patients admitted to a single-centre intensive care unit (ICU) during the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Median daily costs were calculated from financial records and divided in three groups: administrative costs, treatment costs and investigation costs. These were then compared to two retrospective cohorts of non-COVID-19 patients admitted to the same ICU during the same time interval in 2020 and 2019. Demographic data and the management of SARS-CoV-2 infection and of associated organ dysfunctions were recorded to identify risk factors for higher costs. Our results show that the COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with a 70.8% increase in total costs compared to previous years. This increase was mainly determined by an increase in medication and medical-device-related costs. We identified the following as risk factors for increased costs: higher degrees of lung involvement, severity of respiratory dysfunction, need for renal replacement therapy and the use of antiviral or immunomodulatory therapy. Costs were higher in patients who had a shorter duration of hospitalization. In conclusion, the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with increased costs for patients, and rapid measures need to be taken to ensure adequate financial support during future pandemic waves, especially in developing countries.
Keywords: COVID-19; healthcare-associated costs; intensive care unit; medication costs.