Study: C. difficile may cost hospitals more than $1 billion annually
A new study by researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates Clostridium difficile-associated disease, a bacterial infection associated with recent exposure to antibiotics, may cost the nation’s hospitals more than $1 billion annually, according to AHA News Now.
Based on a retrospective study of patients at a St. Louis hospital in 2003, the researchers estimate the initial per episode cost of CDAD at $2,454-$3,240, and the cost over the subsequent six months at $5,042 to $7,179. Based on the estimated number of CDAD cases in 2003, they estimate that CDAD may have cost the nation’s hospitals as much as $1.3 billion that year.
The study appears in the Feb. 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.
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