Abstract
BackgroundTuberculosis patients often experience hospitalization. Inpatient services may result in high medical expenditures. It is important to explore the hospitalization rates of tuberculosis patients and the potential factors that are associated with admission rates and inpatient service expenditures.MethodsData from patients diagnosed and treated at the No.3 hospital of Zhenjiang City from Apr. 2014 to Mar. 2015 were obtained. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were applied for the analysis of potential factors associated with admission rates, average length of stay and cost.ResultsA total of 356 tuberculosis patients were treated at the No.3 hospital of Zhenjiang City. A total of 221 of the 356 patients were hospitalized. Sputum smear test results and type of health insurance were the potential factors associated with hospitalization rates. The average admission was (1.26 ± 0.64) per patient. The average length of stay of inpatients was 29.99 ± 25.83 days. Age, occupation, and sputum smear test were related to the average length of stay. The average total cost to inpatients was 13007.91 ± 5205.58 CNY. The sputum smear test results, type of health insurance, occupation and age were the main potential factors associated with TB inpatient expenditures.ConclusionsThe admission rate of tuberculosis patients was high. Despite advances in TB insurance policies, there were substantial costs associated with TB diagnosis and treatment. TB patients still face a heavy financial burden. Health care providers should revise the service package and reform the health insurance regulations to ensure that TB patients receive appropriate care.
Highlights
We analysed the admission rates and economic burden of TB patients in Zhenjiang City, and we explored the potential factors that are associated with high admission rates and inpatient service costs
More than half of the TB patients were native to Zhenjiang City, and 46.9% of the patients were smear-positive cases
The study revealed that the sputum smear test results, type of health insurance, occupation and age were the main potential factors associated with TB patient admission rate and inpatient expenditures
Summary
It is important to explore the hospitalization rates of tuberculosis patients and the potential factors that are associated with admission rates and inpatient service expenditures. China is one of the “high burden countries” of tuberculosis (TB), there were 889,000 new TB cases in 2017 according to the estimates of the World Health Organization (WHO). China has the second highest TB epidemic rate in the world [1]. Since the 1990s, the Chinese government has implemented the National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTP), the DOTS strategy, free TB diagnosis and treatment, and DOTS-plus to constantly enhance TB control measures [3]. In China, suspected tuberculosis patients are provided free diagnosis and antituberculosis treatment, including free chest X-ray examinations, sputum smear tests and designated first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs. Some patients still cannot afford the share of medical and non-medical costs [6]
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