Intrahospital costs in very low birth weight premature infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia

Abstract

Worldwide, the cost of patients with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is higher than that of patients without BPD. However, the magnitude of this cost difference in Chile is unknown.

Objective: To determine the difference in in-hospital cost among very low birth weight (VLBW) preterm newborns with BPD (mild, moderate, severe) or without it in Chile.

Subjects and Method: Retrospective, bottom-up cost analysis study, carried out based on data collected from the NEOCOSUR Network. The study included VLBW neonates born in the 14 centers in Chile of the network, between 2006 and 2021, who survived beyond 28 days, with a birth weight between 400 and 1,500 grams, and 24 to 33 weeks of gestational age, categorized according to whether or not they had BPD in its three levels. VLBW newborns with congenital malformations and major comorbidities were excluded. Linear regression analysis was performed in order to determine those variables with the highest influence on costs.

Results: The average cost of patients with BPD is 1.78 times higher than that of patients without it. The cost increases as BPD severity increases and decreases as the gestational age increases.

Conclusions: The average cost of patients with BPD is 78% higher than the cost of those without BPD. The length of hospital stay is the variable that contributes the most to the increase in costs, where for each additional day of hospitalization the costs increase by USD 46.82.