Cost of surgical site infection in Egyptian University Hospital: Informing a decision to implement an infection control program using simulation

Abstract

ObjectiveTo estimate the cost of surgical site infection in the Medical Research Institute hospital from the patient and hospital perspectives using simulation. The cost was estimated to support a decision on which infection control strategy to implement from strategies with different efficacies and costs. MethodsTwo economic models were developed to estimate the cost of surgical site infection, from hospital and patient perspectives, among a hypothetical cohort of 1000 surgical patients. The models were fed by data collected from a cohort of 351 surgical patients in the Medical Research Institute hospital through a 6-month period. A hypothetical example is proposed to show how this data can inform decisions on implementation of infection control strategies. Results and conclusionsNearly 12 out of every 100 surgical patients operated in the Medical Research Institute hospital developed surgical site infection. In 75% of patients, the cost of surgical site infection did not exceed 230 Egyptian Pounds, from the hospital perspective, and 6524 Egyptian Pounds, from patient perspective. Sixty per cent of the costs, tolerated by the hospital, were due to consumables; thus, they could be totally saved if all these surgical site infections had been prevented. From the cohort of 1000 surgical patients, around 110 cases would develop surgical site infection and sought treatment within the Medical Research Institute hospital. The estimated median total cost of treating them would be around 66,700 Egyptian Pounds from the hospital perspective, 76,800 Egyptian Pounds from the patient perspective. This data could help choosing one of three hypothetical infection control programs of different costs and efficacies.