New Study Reports on the High Cost of Cardiac Surgery Healthcare Associated Infections
Findings reported at AHA Scientific Sessions 2013 reveal the economic impact of healthcare associated infections following cardiac surgery.
After cardiac surgery, healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are common complications associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and use of resources.
Study findings reported at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2013 by investigators from the Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN), whose Data and Clinical Coordinating Center is at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, revealed the substantial economic impact of HAIs following cardiac surgery and the importance of preventing these infections leading to re-hospitalizations.
In the new analysis, researchers examined data about the incremental costs associated with major HAIs within 65 days of cardiac surgery. Clinical data from 4,320 patients at nine academic medical centers was merged with related financial data routinely collected by the University Health Consortium in the United States. The most common cardiac surgery procedures undergone by these patients included valve surgery, coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), and CABG/valve surgery.
The data show during hospitalization, 2.7 percent of patients experienced major infections, such as pneumonia, sepsis, C. Difficile, and surgical site infections.
The average cost due to treating major HAI infection was calculated as about $40,000, with increased costs from Intensive Care Unit stays being an important contributing factor. Also, patients with major HAIs were nearly twice as likely to be readmitted as those with non-HAIs. In the patient population studied, there were 74 readmissions, with 8.7 percent due to HAIs.
"Our analysis found readmissions due to HAIs, after cardiac surgery cost on average nearly three times as much as non-HAI related readmissions," says Giampaolo Greco, PhD, Assistant Professor of Health Evidence and Policy at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
"We need to take action to avert preventable readmissions due to HAI infection rates after cardiac surgery, first for the patient's health and also to curb rising healthcare costs," says Dr. Greco.
This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and Institute for Health Technology Studies (InHealth), a non-profit foundation.
As principal investigator for CTSN's Data and Clinical Coordinating Center based at Mount Sinai, Annetine C. Gelijns, PhD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Evidence and Policy at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, previously received financial compensation as a consultant for InHealth's Research Council, which has supported some of the study-related analyses.
This study was presented at the AHA Scientific Sessions 2013 in Abstract Poster Session (18267): The Economic Impact of Healthcare Associated Infections in Cardiac Surgery.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the nation’s leading integrated academic health systems and one of the largest in the New York metropolitan area. Its comprehensive system includes seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, over 600 research and clinical laboratories, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing. Together, the Health System comprises approximately 48,000 employees, more than 9,000 physicians, and 8,600 nurses.
As a leading learning health system, Mount Sinai combines clinical expertise with scientific discovery to improve patient care while training the next generation of health care and biomedical leaders. The Health System provides care across every stage of life, from prenatal care through geriatrics, while advancing personalized medicine through artificial intelligence, data science, and biomedical research.
Mount Sinai is consistently recognized among the nation’s leading academic health systems for patient care, research, and education. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 1 in New York by Newsweek and No. 5 on the magazine’s World’s Best Hospitals list. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ranks No. 11 among U.S. medical schools and No. 1 among freestanding medical schools for National Institutes of Health funding, reflecting the strength of its scientific enterprise and leadership in biomedical research.
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