Acessibilidade / Reportar erro

The cost of stroke in private hospitals in Brazil: a one-year prospective study

O custo do AVC em hospitais privados no Brasil: um estudo prospectivo

ABSTRACT

Few studies from low- and middle-income countries have assessed stroke and cerebral reperfusion costs from the private sector.

Objective

To measure the in-hospital costs of ischemic stroke (IS), with and without cerebral reperfusion, primary intracerebral hemorrhage (PIH), subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and transient ischemic attacks (TIA) in two private hospitals in Joinville, Brazil.

Methods

Prospective disease-cost study. All medical and nonmedical costs for patients admitted with any stroke type or TIA were consecutively determined in 2016-17. All costs were adjusted to the gross domestic product deflator index and purchasing power parity.

Results

We included 173 patients. The median cost per patient was US$3,827 (IQR: 2,800-8,664) for the 131 IS patients; US$2,315 (IQR: 1,692-2,959) for the 27 TIA patients; US$16,442 (IQR: 5,108-33,355) for the 11 PIH patients and US$28,928 (IQR: 12,424-48,037) for the four SAH patients (p < 0.00001). For the six IS patients who underwent intravenous thrombolysis, the median cost per patient was US$11,463 (IQR: 8,931-14,291), and for the four IS patients who underwent intra-arterial thrombectomy, the median cost per patient was US$35,092 (IQR: 31,833-37,626; p < 0.0001). A direct correlation was found between cost and length of stay (r = 0.67, p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Stroke is a costly disease. In the private sector, the costs of cerebral reperfusion for IS treatment were three-to-ten times higher than for usual treatments. Therefore, cost-effectiveness studies are urgently needed in low- and middle-income countries.

Keywords
Stroke; costs and cost analysis; hospitals

RESUMO

Poucos estudos determinam o custo do AVC em países de baixa e média renda nos setores privados.

Objetivos

Mensurar o custo hospitalar do tratamento do(a): AVC isquêmico com e sem reperfusão cerebral, hemorragia intracerebral primária (HIP), hemorragia subaracnóidea e ataque isquêmico transitório (AIT) em hospitais privados de Joinville, Brasil.

Métodos

Estudo prospectivo de custo de doença. Os custos médicos e não médicos dos pacientes admitidos com qualquer tipo de AVC ou AIT foram consecutivamente verificados em 2016-17. Os valores foram ajustados ao índice do deflator do produto interno bruto e à paridade do poder de compra.

Resultados

Nós incluímos 173 pacientes. A mediana de custo por paciente foi de US$ 3.827 (IQR: 2.800-8.664) para os 131 pacientes com AVC isquêmico; US$ 2.315 (1.692-2.959) para os 27 pacientes com AIT; US$ 16.442 (5.108-33.355) para os 11 pacientes com HIP e US$ 28.928 (12.424-48.037) para os quatro pacientes com HSA (p < 0,00001). Para seis pacientes submetidos à trombólise intravenosa, a mediana do custo por paciente foi de US$ 11.463 (8.931-14.291) e, para quatro pacientes submetidos à trombectomia intra-arterial, a mediana de custo por paciente foi de US$ 35.092 (31.833-37.626; p < 0,0001). Uma correlação direta foi encontrada entre custo e tempo de permanência (r = 0,67, p < 0,001).

Conclusão

O AVC é uma doença cara. Em ambiente privado, os custos da reperfusão cerebral foram de três a dez vezes superiores aos tratamentos habituais do AVC isquêmico. Portanto, estudos de custo-efetividade são urgentemente necessários em países de baixa e média rendas.

Palavras-chave
Acidente vascular cerebral; custo e análise de custo; hospitais

Stroke costs are predicted to rise in low- and middle-income countries11. Ovbiagele B, Goldstein LB, Higashida RT, Howard VJ, Johnston SC, Khavjou OA, et al.; American Heart Association Advocacy Coordinating Committee and Stroke Council. Forecasting the future of stroke in the United States: a policy statement from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association. Stroke. 2013 Aug;44(8):2361-75. https://doi.org/10.1161/STR.0b013e31829734f2
https://doi.org/10.1161/STR.0b013e318297...
,22. Murray CJ, Vos T, Lozano R, Naghavi M, Flaxman AD, Michaud C, et al. Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for 291 diseases and injuries in 21 regions, 1990-2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet. 2012 Dec;380(9859):2197-223. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61689-4
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61...
. This forecast is based on the increase in prevalence rates and the costs of new cerebral reperfusion interventions for the treatment of ischemic stroke (IS)11. Ovbiagele B, Goldstein LB, Higashida RT, Howard VJ, Johnston SC, Khavjou OA, et al.; American Heart Association Advocacy Coordinating Committee and Stroke Council. Forecasting the future of stroke in the United States: a policy statement from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association. Stroke. 2013 Aug;44(8):2361-75. https://doi.org/10.1161/STR.0b013e31829734f2
https://doi.org/10.1161/STR.0b013e318297...
,22. Murray CJ, Vos T, Lozano R, Naghavi M, Flaxman AD, Michaud C, et al. Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for 291 diseases and injuries in 21 regions, 1990-2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet. 2012 Dec;380(9859):2197-223. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61689-4
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61...
. Despite most strokes occurring in low- and middle-income countries, there is limited information about the costs of stroke treatments in these settings33. Feigin VL, Forouzanfar MH, Krishnamurthi R, Mensah GA, Connor M, Bennett DA, et al.; Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2010 (GBD 2010) and the GBD Stroke Experts Group. Global and regional burden of stroke during 1990-2010: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet. 2014 Jan;383(9913):245-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61953-4
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61...
. For instance, only one retrospective study has reported the public costs of stroke in Brazil44. Christensen MC, Valiente R, Sampaio Silva G, Lee WC, Dutcher S, Guimarães Rocha MS, et al. Acute treatment costs of stroke in Brazil. Neuroepidemiology. 2009;32(2):142-9. https://doi.org/10.1159/000184747
https://doi.org/10.1159/000184747...
, and this was conducted before IS cerebral reperfusion treatment was available.

The incidence of all strokes decreased by 37% in Joinville from 1995 to 2013; however, the one-year prevalence of functional dependency from 2005-2006 (n = 759) to 2012-2013 (n = 922) showed a nonsignificant increase of 32% for IS and a nonsignificant increase of 66% for primary intracerebral hemorrhage (PIH)55. Cabral NL, Cougo-Pinto PT, Magalhaes PS, Longo AL, Moro CH, Amaral CH, et al. Trends of stroke incidence from 1995 to 2013 in Joinville, Brazil. Neuroepidemiology. 2016;46(4):273-81. https://doi.org/10.1159/000445060
https://doi.org/10.1159/000445060...
.

After 2014, the results of interventional studies showed that cerebral reperfusion for IS opened up new perspectives for IS prognosis66. Hill MD, Goyal M, Demchuk AM. Endovascular stroke therapy—a new era. Int J Stroke. 2015 Apr;10(3):278-9. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijs.12456
https://doi.org/10.1111/ijs.12456...
. In Brazil, the state-run health care system is universal. Three quarters of the population use it exclusively and one quarter uses both public and private health services77. Paim J, Travassos C, Almeida C, Bahia L, Macinko J. The Brazilian health system: history, advances and challenges. Lancet. 2011 May;377(9779):1778-97. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60054-8
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60...
. However, the costs of these treatment options from the private sector in low- and middle-income countries, where health budgets are tight, remains unknown. We aimed to measure private in-hospital costs of IS (with and without cerebral reperfusion), primary intracerebral hemorrhage (PIH), subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and transient ischemic attack (TIA) in Joinville, Brazil.

METHODS

Study design

This was a prospective bottom-up, one-year prevalence-based cost-of-illness study88. Evers SM, Struijs JN, Ament AJ, Genugten ML, Jager JH, Bos GA. International comparison of stroke cost studies. Stroke. 2004 May;35(5):1209-15. https://doi.org/10.1161/01.STR.0000125860.48180.48
https://doi.org/10.1161/01.STR.000012586...
. Data were extracted from two private hospitals (neither hospital has a stroke or neurocritical care unit), in the city of Joinville, Brazil, from September 1, 2016 to August 30, 2017. We included first-ever or recurrent IS, PIH, SAH or TIA in patients who were aged ≥18 years old, consecutively admitted over the study period. Patients were excluded if they had incomplete medical records, if they had been transferred from another hospital or if their hospitalization time exceeded the deadline for data collection.

Data collection

The principal investigator (LGDRV) used a questionnaire (Figure 1) to register all checklist items from admission until hospital discharge in each patient. Admission date, final stroke diagnosis, hospitalization units, diagnostic work-up, medication, equipment, medical rounds, medical and nursing procedures, types of food, multidisciplinary rehabilitation sessions and clinical complications were extracted from the patient’s medical records. Demographic information, socioeconomic status, cardiovascular risk factors and 30-day functional outcomes were extracted from the Joinville Stroke Registry55. Cabral NL, Cougo-Pinto PT, Magalhaes PS, Longo AL, Moro CH, Amaral CH, et al. Trends of stroke incidence from 1995 to 2013 in Joinville, Brazil. Neuroepidemiology. 2016;46(4):273-81. https://doi.org/10.1159/000445060
https://doi.org/10.1159/000445060...
. The routine for stroke investigation followed the guidelines issued by the Brazilian Society of Cerebrovascular Diseases99. Oliveira-Filho J, Martins SC, Pontes-Neto OM, Longo A, Evaristo EF, Carvalho JJ, et al.. Guidelines for acute ischemic stroke treatment: part I. Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2012 Aug;70(8):621-9. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0004-282X2012000800012
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0004-282X201200...
,1010. Martins SC, Freitas GR, Pontes-Neto OM, Pieri A, Moro CH, Jesus PA, et al. Guidelines for acute ischemic stroke treatment: part II: stroke treatment. Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2012 Nov;70(11):885-93. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0004-282X2012001100012
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0004-282X201200...
,1111. Pontes-Neto OM, Oliveira-Filho J, Valiente R, Friedrich M, Pedreira B, Rodrigues BC, et al. [Brazilian guidelines for the manegement of intracerebral hemorrhage]. Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2009 Sep;67 3B:940-50.Portuguese. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0004-282X2009000500034
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0004-282X200900...
(Table 1). The severity of IS was stratified according to the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), with 0–3 being minor, 4–10 being moderate and 10 being severe1212. Lyden P. Using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale: A Cautionary Tale. Stroke. 2017 Feb;48(2):513-9. https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.116.015434
https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.116.01...
.

Figure 1
Data collection questionnaire: checklist.

Table 1
Protocol for acute stroke evaluation per stroke type.

Data analysis

Collected data were compared with the patient’s final hospital bill. The findings were discussed with the hospital’s management centre if any divergence was identified. Together, the two hospitals serve 27 health plans, each with differences in their costs and fees criteria. Both hospitals use a mixture of methods to compute costs, which results in methodological differences in the allocation of costs (Figure 2).

Figure 2
Methodology flowchart.

Therefore, to equate the methodological differences, the medical and nonmedical costs were split into 12 distinct subitems: 1) hospital daily: all hospital services including nursing services, private or semiprivate rooms, nutritionists, psychologists, pharmacy and kitchen staff, electrical power and water consumption, garbage collection, depreciation of equipment, cleaning and laundry; 2) emergency room rate: salaries of emergency room personnel, laundry, maintenance of equipment, electricity and water; 3) medical visits: daily medical and on-call visits; 4) medical procedures: material costs, medical fees and operating room fees, including all staff wages, electricity, water, maintenance and equipment depreciation; 5) rehabilitation team: daily visits from speech therapists, physiotherapists and occupational therapists; 6) equipment for procedures: needles, syringes, gauze, suction probes etc.; 7) medications: drugs and intravenous (IV) solutions; 8) laboratory tests: wages (biochemists, technicians and administrative assistants), tests, electric power, water, equipment maintenance and depreciation; 9) diagnostic work-up sections: medical reports and technical staff, materials, electric power, water, equipment maintenance and depreciation; 10) special feeding: enteral diet and special supplements (which are calculated separately from the hospital daily costs), unit value of the diet per bottle and supplement used and materials and equipment for administration; 11) medical gases: daily rate of gas consumption and 12) administrative fees: wages and uniforms of clerks, security staff, computer teams, receptionists and other administrative departments.

All personnel wages included the wage itself plus social and labor charges. Nonmedical costs were obtained by apportionment; for instance, the cost of employee labor was the sum of the average annual labor, the costs of training and uniforms divided by the number of sector beds. These apportions were present when calculating the fraction of electric power consumption, maintenance and depreciation of equipment in all sectors, as well as when calculating the cost of labor (wages) for the hospital inpatient stay (e.g. the nursing team, nutritionists, pharmacists and psychologists), laboratory tests (e.g. biochemical and other employees in this sector), diagnostic work-up sections (e.g. technical staff); administrative fees (e.g. the administrative, security and janitorial teams) and rehabilitation (e.g. in the case of professionals employed by the hospital, excluding outsourced services).

We determined the unit costs as the mean cost of each item per patient in the hospital stay and diagnostic work-up, including medical and nonmedical items.

Statistical analysis

We evaluated differences among patient subgroups by using a χ22. Murray CJ, Vos T, Lozano R, Naghavi M, Flaxman AD, Michaud C, et al. Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for 291 diseases and injuries in 21 regions, 1990-2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet. 2012 Dec;380(9859):2197-223. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61689-4
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61...
test, t test, or Mann-Whitney U test as appropriate. All tests were two tailed. Cost data were converted to 2016 currency values using a web-based tool (CCEMG - EPPI-Centre Cost Converter)1313. Shemilt I, Thomas J, Morciano M. A web-based tool for adjusting costs to a specific target currency and price year. Evid Policy. 2010;6(1):51-9. https://doi.org/10.1332/174426410X482999.
https://doi.org/10.1332/174426410X482999...
. The cost was first converted into the current year cost for Brazil using the gross domestic product (GDP) deflator index. In the next step, this cost was converted into United States dollars (US$) (for 2016) using conversion rates based on purchasing power parity (PPP) for the GDP (the Brazilian real PPP value for 2016 was 0.49)1313. Shemilt I, Thomas J, Morciano M. A web-based tool for adjusting costs to a specific target currency and price year. Evid Policy. 2010;6(1):51-9. https://doi.org/10.1332/174426410X482999.
https://doi.org/10.1332/174426410X482999...
. For comparison, the original costs of other studies were converted to 2016 values. All values were in US$. Tests were performed using Statistical Analysis System software (version 9.2) with PROC GENMOD (SAS Institute, Inc, Cary, NC). The study was approved by the ethics in research committees at the involved hospitals and the UNIVILLE-Joinville Region University (opinion number: 1.657.067).

RESULTS

A total of 173 patients were included in the study, of whom 76% (131/173) were diagnosed with IS, 6% (11/173) with PIH, 2% (4/173) with SAH and 16% (27/173) with a TIA. We excluded 11 patients who were transferred from other hospitals. The overall mean age of the cohort was 68 years (SD ± 15). The median NIHSS scores for IS were 2 (IQR: 1–5), for PIH were 5 (IQR: 4–12) and for SAH were 8 (IQR: 7–12). Of the 131 IS patients, 62% (81) had mild stroke (NIHSS: 0-3), 27% (35) had a moderate stroke (NIHSS: 4–10) and 11% (15) had a severe stroke (NIHSS: >10). The mean length of stay (LOS) for IS was 8 days (SD ± 7), for PIH was 15 days (SD±16), for SAH was 11 days (SD ± 5) and for TIA was 4 days (SD ± 2). The 30-day case-fatality rates were 36% (4/11) for PIH patients and 6% (8/131) for IS patients. There were no deaths in the TIA and SAH groups.

The median total cost of hospitalization per patient based on stroke type ranged from US$2,316 (IQR: 1,692–2,959) for TIA to US$28,928 (IQR: 12,424–48,037) for SAH patients (p < 0.0001). Table 2 shows the total in-hospital costs and the daily costs among all stroke types and TIA. The median and mean costs of seven cardioembolic IS due to atrial fibrillation were US$6,386 (IQR: 4,003–10,589) and US$9,505 (SD ± 7,612), respectively.

Table 2
Total in-hospital cost and daily cost per patient among stroke types and TIA.

The following patients were admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU): 31/131 patients with IS, 8/11 patients with PIH, 4/4 patients with SAH and 1/27 patient with TIA (this patient was submitted to electrical cardioversion for atrial fibrillation). In patients with IS, those who stayed in ICU remained twice as long in hospital and had a mean cost six times higher than those who did not go to the ICU. For PIH patients, the mean cost was twice as high in patients who stayed in the ICU with similar LOS.

As expected, the cost of hospitalization increased with LOS. For IS, the median cost for up to seven days was US$2,639 (IQR: 2,017–3,274), which increased to US$4,743 (IQR: 3,609–8,687) for 7–14 days and US$29,499 (IQR: 19,628–38,952) for stays > 14 days. Figure 3 shows the significant linear correlation between IS cost and LOS (r = 0.67; p < 0.001). Table 3 shows the cost per stroke type stratified by weeks of hospital stay.

Figure 3
Ischemic stroke cost per length of stay.

Table 3
Median cost per stroke type over time and mean LOS.

Also as expected, the IS costs grew according to clinical severity when arriving at hospital (Figure 4). The costs were US$3,370 (IQR: 2,418–4,718) for the 81 mild IS patients (NIHSS: 0–3), US$4,335 (IQR: 3,297–8,599) for the 35 moderate IS patients (NIHSS: 4–10) and US$30,753 (IQR: 21,751–38,973) for the 15 severe IS patients (NIHSS: >10; p < 0.0001).

Figure 4
Ischemic stroke cost per clinical severity (NIHSS).

The IS cost was also stratified with and without reperfusion (Figure 5). Intra-arterial (IA) thrombectomy increased the cost of IS treatment 10-11-fold compared to IV thrombolysis (p < 0.0001). A total of 117 IS patients did not receive cerebral reperfusion, and the median cost for each patient was US$3,539 (IQR: 2,647–5,771). Conversely, six patients received IV thrombolysis, and the median cost each patient was US$11,463 (IQR: 8,931–14,291). In addition, eight patients received IV thrombolysis and IA thrombectomy, and the median cost for each patient was US$37,948 (IQR: 32,697–47,205).

Figure 5
Costs of stroke in private hospitals, Joinville, Brazil.

The proportions of costs were calculated among all strokes types and TIA. These included daily costs, emergency room rates, medications, materials, laboratory investigations, medical procedures, medical fees, diagnostic work-ups, multidisciplinary teams, special nutrition, medical gases and administrative fees (Figure 6). Table 4 shows the unit costs of each item and the average cost per stroke type in 2016-2017.

Figure 6
Composition of the hospital total cost per type of stroke.

Table 4
Unit costs and average composition of costs per stroke type.

Hospital stay had the greatest impact on total cost in IS, PIH and TIA (representing 24% to 32% of the total cost). Hospital stay costs for intensive care and nursing comprised 26% of all final bills (US$474,602 to US$1,845,927). In the SAH group, the greatest impact was from medical procedures (44%). This was also the item with the second greatest impact on final cost in IS patients (18%). These procedures comprised 15% of the total final bill (US $274,736/US$1,845,927). Intra-arterial thrombectomies (solitaire stent, for anterior circulation 8F Corail balloon-guided catheter (Balt) and for posterior circulation 6F Chaperon catheter) were performed in 6% of all patients (8/131) and comprised 7% of the total final bill (US$130,467/US$1,845,927). Therefore, more than one-third of all medical and nonmedical costs were incurred by two items.

DISCUSSION

This prospective study in a middle-income country showed that the overall in-hospital cost of 173 strokes during 2016-17 was approximately US$1.8 million. The average cost per patient was US$10,404. As expected, IS was the most common type of stroke (76%). The cost of IS treatment was greater in patients who had a more severe stroke and in those submitted to IV thrombolysis and IA thrombectomy. Overall, the IS costs were approximately US$3,500 for those without cerebral reperfusion, US$11,500 for those receiving IV thrombolysis and US$38,000 for those receiving IV and IA cerebral reperfusion. To compare these findings, the values from the original studies were adjusted to the PPP for the GDP in 2016. Therefore, the median IS costs (without cerebral reperfusion) in this study were higher than in a public hospital in São Paulo in 2009 (US$2,166)44. Christensen MC, Valiente R, Sampaio Silva G, Lee WC, Dutcher S, Guimarães Rocha MS, et al. Acute treatment costs of stroke in Brazil. Neuroepidemiology. 2009;32(2):142-9. https://doi.org/10.1159/000184747
https://doi.org/10.1159/000184747...
but lower than private costs in India (US $3,720) in 20131414. Kwatra G, Kaur P, Toor G, Badyal DK, Kaur R, Singh Y, et al. Cost of stroke from a tertiary center in northwest India. Neurol India. 2013 Nov-Dec;61(6):627-32. https://doi.org/10.4103/0028-3886.125270
https://doi.org/10.4103/0028-3886.125270...
, Japan (US$6,640) in 20031515. Yoneda Y, Uehara T, Yamasaki H, Kita Y, Tabuchi M, Mori E. Hospital-based study of the care and cost of acute ischemic stroke in Japan. Stroke. 2003 Mar;34(3):718-24. https://doi.org/10.1161/01.STR.0000056171.55342.FF
https://doi.org/10.1161/01.STR.000005617...
and the Netherlands in 2015 (US$7,496)1616. Buisman LR, Tan SS, Nederkoorn PJ, Koudstaal PJ, Redekop WK. Hospital costs of ischemic stroke and TIA in the Netherlands. Neurology. 2015 Jun;84(22):2208-15. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000001635
https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.000000000000...
. The costs for IV or combined cerebral reperfusion treatment for IS were similar to those of studies conducted in the USA; for instance, the median hospital costs for 63,472 IS patients who received IV thrombolysis from 2001 to 2008 in the USA was US$15,751 (IQR: 11,155-23,253)1717. Brinjikji W, Rabinstein AA, Cloft HJ. Hospitalization costs for acute ischemic stroke patients treated with intravenous thrombolysis in the United States are substantially higher than medicare payments. Stroke. 2012 Apr;43(4):1131-3. https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.111.636142
https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.111.63...
. Studies in the USA have recently reported even higher costs; for example, costs ranged from US$24,817 to US$33,810 for IV thrombolysis, and from US$39,825 to US$40,743 for IV and IA thrombolysis1818. Rai AT, Boo S, Buseman C, Adcock AK, Tarabishy AR, Miller MM, et al. Intravenous thrombolysis before endovascular therapy for large vessel strokes can lead to significantly higher hospital costs without improving outcomes. J Neurointerv Surg. 2018 Jan;10(1):17-21. https://doi.org/10.1136/neurintsurg-2016-012830
https://doi.org/10.1136/neurintsurg-2016...
. In the latter study, the clinical severity of patients submitted to IV thrombolysis was greater than that in this study, whereas the patients receiving IA and IV reperfusion had clinical severities costs that were similar to those in this study.

As in other studies, LOS and clinical severity were directly related to the final hospital costs1919. Wei JW, Heeley EL, Jan S, Huang Y, Huang Q, Wang JG, et al. Variations and determinants of hospital costs for acute stroke in China. PLoS One. 2010 Sep;5(9):e13041. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0013041
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.001...
,2020. Asil T, Celik Y, Sut N, Celik AD, Balci K, Yilmaz A, et al. Cost of acute ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke in Turkey. Clin Neurol Neurosurg. 2011 Feb;113(2):111-4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clineuro.2010.09.014 PMID:21036465
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clineuro.2010....
. The LOS in this study was approximately 11 days for a major stroke and four days for a TIA. The LOS for IS (eight days) was shorter than for patients in Japan (33 days)1515. Yoneda Y, Uehara T, Yamasaki H, Kita Y, Tabuchi M, Mori E. Hospital-based study of the care and cost of acute ischemic stroke in Japan. Stroke. 2003 Mar;34(3):718-24. https://doi.org/10.1161/01.STR.0000056171.55342.FF
https://doi.org/10.1161/01.STR.000005617...
, China (20 days)1919. Wei JW, Heeley EL, Jan S, Huang Y, Huang Q, Wang JG, et al. Variations and determinants of hospital costs for acute stroke in China. PLoS One. 2010 Sep;5(9):e13041. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0013041
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.001...
and Brazil (13 days)44. Christensen MC, Valiente R, Sampaio Silva G, Lee WC, Dutcher S, Guimarães Rocha MS, et al. Acute treatment costs of stroke in Brazil. Neuroepidemiology. 2009;32(2):142-9. https://doi.org/10.1159/000184747
https://doi.org/10.1159/000184747...
but similar to patients in the Netherlands (seven days)1616. Buisman LR, Tan SS, Nederkoorn PJ, Koudstaal PJ, Redekop WK. Hospital costs of ischemic stroke and TIA in the Netherlands. Neurology. 2015 Jun;84(22):2208-15. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000001635
https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.000000000000...
and Malaysia (six days)2121. Nor Azlin MN, Syed Aljunid SJ, Noor Azahz A, Amrizal MN, Saperi S. Direct medical cost of stroke: findings from a tertiary hospital in malaysia. Med J Malaysia. 2012 Oct;67(5):473-7.. These differences were attributed to two main factors: 1) other studies with a higher LOS1515. Yoneda Y, Uehara T, Yamasaki H, Kita Y, Tabuchi M, Mori E. Hospital-based study of the care and cost of acute ischemic stroke in Japan. Stroke. 2003 Mar;34(3):718-24. https://doi.org/10.1161/01.STR.0000056171.55342.FF
https://doi.org/10.1161/01.STR.000005617...
,1919. Wei JW, Heeley EL, Jan S, Huang Y, Huang Q, Wang JG, et al. Variations and determinants of hospital costs for acute stroke in China. PLoS One. 2010 Sep;5(9):e13041. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0013041
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.001...
included patients with a higher clinical severity at hospital admission, and 2) the characteristics of the hospitals were different in China (secondary and tertiary hospitals); treatment of the acute and rehabilitation phase was performed in Japan; the other Brazilian study was carried out in a public hospital.

The median costs of PIH in this study was US$16,442, which was higher than the costs reported in 2009 in São Paulo (US$4,670) in public hospitals44. Christensen MC, Valiente R, Sampaio Silva G, Lee WC, Dutcher S, Guimarães Rocha MS, et al. Acute treatment costs of stroke in Brazil. Neuroepidemiology. 2009;32(2):142-9. https://doi.org/10.1159/000184747
https://doi.org/10.1159/000184747...
. A cohort study in Canada reported that the median cost of hospital care for 987 PIH patients was US$11,777 per patient2222. Specogna AV, Patten SB, Turin TC, Hill MD. Cost of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage in Canada during 1 decade. Stroke. 2014 Jan;45(1):284-6. https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.113.003276
https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.113.00...
. The PIH costs in this study were higher than in Malaysia (US$3,012)2121. Nor Azlin MN, Syed Aljunid SJ, Noor Azahz A, Amrizal MN, Saperi S. Direct medical cost of stroke: findings from a tertiary hospital in malaysia. Med J Malaysia. 2012 Oct;67(5):473-7.and China (US$4,934)1919. Wei JW, Heeley EL, Jan S, Huang Y, Huang Q, Wang JG, et al. Variations and determinants of hospital costs for acute stroke in China. PLoS One. 2010 Sep;5(9):e13041. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0013041
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.001...
.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage was the most expensive of all stroke types. The median SAH cost in this study was US$28,928, which was similar to Germany (US$24,091)2323. Dodel R, Winter Y, Ringel F, Spottke A, Gharevi N, Müller I, et al. Cost of illness in subarachnoid hemorrhage: a German longitudinal study. Stroke. 2010 Dec;41(12):2918-23. https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.110.586826
https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.110.58...
but lower than Singapore (US$38,633)2424. Venketasubramanian N, Yin A. Hospital costs for stroke care in Singapore. Cerebrovasc Dis. 2000 Jul-Aug;10(4):320-6. https://doi.org/10.1159/000016077
https://doi.org/10.1159/000016077...
. Again, all costs were lower than in the USA, where the median cost for hospitalization of clipped and coiled patients was US$77,462 and US$74,041, respectively, in 20082525. Brinjikji W, Kallmes DF, Lanzino G, Cloft HJ. Hospitalization costs for endovascular and surgical treatment of ruptured aneurysms in the United States are substantially higher than Medicare payments. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2012 Jun;33(6):1037-40. https://doi.org/10.3174/ajnr.A2938
https://doi.org/10.3174/ajnr.A2938...
. The sample of patients with SAH in this study was very small (n = 4), thus making it difficult to compare the results with those reported in the literature.

The median cost of a TIA in this study was US$2,316 and the mean LOS was four days. In the Netherlands, the LOS was the same, but the costs were higher (US$3,474)1616. Buisman LR, Tan SS, Nederkoorn PJ, Koudstaal PJ, Redekop WK. Hospital costs of ischemic stroke and TIA in the Netherlands. Neurology. 2015 Jun;84(22):2208-15. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000001635
https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.000000000000...
. In the USA, the LOS was also the same but the costs were even higher (US$16,450)2626. Qureshi AI, Adil MM, Zacharatos H, Suri MF. Factors associated with length of hospitalization in patients admitted with transient ischemic attack in United States. Stroke. 2013 Jun;44(6):1601-5. https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.111.000590
https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.111.00...
. In this USA study, the author reported that the treatment of TIA comorbidities, the characteristics of hospitals and health insurance increased the LOS and cost of hospitalization.

This study has some limitations. For example, the absence of a standard methodology for computing the costs of two hospital entities made it necessary to create a method for the appropriation and allocation of costs; the sample for SAH, PIH and TIA were small; the two general and private hospitals did not have stroke units; the hospitals cared for patients from 27 different health plans and variations were found in the price tables of the inputs and the profit of private entities was included in the final costs. The strength of this study includes its prospective design, which included all medical and nonmedical costs for all stroke types and TIAs from a private-sector setting. To compare the findings with costs in other private hospitals, the costs of the original studies were adjusted to the GDP Deflator Index and PPP in 20161313. Shemilt I, Thomas J, Morciano M. A web-based tool for adjusting costs to a specific target currency and price year. Evid Policy. 2010;6(1):51-9. https://doi.org/10.1332/174426410X482999.
https://doi.org/10.1332/174426410X482999...
.

In conclusion, stroke is a costly disease that is directly associated with the length of hospital stay and clinical severity. The costs of PIH and SAH were more expensive than IS. When only hospital costs were considered, IV cerebral reperfusion for IS was three times more expensive than conservative treatments, whereas combined treatments were 11 times more expensive. The costs associated with greater stroke severity and disability in eligible IS patients not treated with reperfusion therapies were not calculated. In high-income countries, the cost-effectiveness of cerebral reperfusion for IS has been defined,2727. Achit H, Soudant M, Hosseini K, Bannay A, Epstein J, Bracard S, et al. Cost-effectiveness of thrombectomy in patients with acute ischemic stroke: the THRACE randomized controlled trial. Stroke. 2017 Oct;48(10):2843-7. https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.117.017856
https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.117.01...
,2828. Shireman TI, Wang K, Saver JL, Goyal M, Bonafé A, Diener HC, et al.; SWIFT-PRIME Investigators. Cost-effectiveness of solitaire stent retriever thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke: results from the SWIFT-PRIME trial (solitaire with the intention for thrombectomy as primary endovascular treatment for acute ischemic stroke). Stroke. 2017 Feb;48(2):379-87. https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.116.014735
https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.116.01...
however, in Brazil, only one retrospective study has shown that the use of thrombolysis in IS patients changes the natural history of the disease and, moreover, that the intervention contributes to the reduction of direct (hospitalization and rehabilitation) and indirect (loss of productivity) costs2929. Araújo DV, Teich V, Passos RB, Martins SC. Analysis of the cost-effectiveness of thrombolysis with alteplase in stroke. Arq Bras Cardiol. 2010;95(1):12-20. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0066-782X2010005000067
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0066-782X201000...
. It is highly likely that thrombectomy is also cost-effective in developing countries.

References

  • 1
    Ovbiagele B, Goldstein LB, Higashida RT, Howard VJ, Johnston SC, Khavjou OA, et al.; American Heart Association Advocacy Coordinating Committee and Stroke Council. Forecasting the future of stroke in the United States: a policy statement from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association. Stroke. 2013 Aug;44(8):2361-75. https://doi.org/10.1161/STR.0b013e31829734f2
    » https://doi.org/10.1161/STR.0b013e31829734f2
  • 2
    Murray CJ, Vos T, Lozano R, Naghavi M, Flaxman AD, Michaud C, et al. Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for 291 diseases and injuries in 21 regions, 1990-2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet. 2012 Dec;380(9859):2197-223. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61689-4
    » https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61689-4
  • 3
    Feigin VL, Forouzanfar MH, Krishnamurthi R, Mensah GA, Connor M, Bennett DA, et al.; Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2010 (GBD 2010) and the GBD Stroke Experts Group. Global and regional burden of stroke during 1990-2010: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet. 2014 Jan;383(9913):245-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61953-4
    » https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61953-4
  • 4
    Christensen MC, Valiente R, Sampaio Silva G, Lee WC, Dutcher S, Guimarães Rocha MS, et al. Acute treatment costs of stroke in Brazil. Neuroepidemiology. 2009;32(2):142-9. https://doi.org/10.1159/000184747
    » https://doi.org/10.1159/000184747
  • 5
    Cabral NL, Cougo-Pinto PT, Magalhaes PS, Longo AL, Moro CH, Amaral CH, et al. Trends of stroke incidence from 1995 to 2013 in Joinville, Brazil. Neuroepidemiology. 2016;46(4):273-81. https://doi.org/10.1159/000445060
    » https://doi.org/10.1159/000445060
  • 6
    Hill MD, Goyal M, Demchuk AM. Endovascular stroke therapy—a new era. Int J Stroke. 2015 Apr;10(3):278-9. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijs.12456
    » https://doi.org/10.1111/ijs.12456
  • 7
    Paim J, Travassos C, Almeida C, Bahia L, Macinko J. The Brazilian health system: history, advances and challenges. Lancet. 2011 May;377(9779):1778-97. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60054-8
    » https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(11)60054-8
  • 8
    Evers SM, Struijs JN, Ament AJ, Genugten ML, Jager JH, Bos GA. International comparison of stroke cost studies. Stroke. 2004 May;35(5):1209-15. https://doi.org/10.1161/01.STR.0000125860.48180.48
    » https://doi.org/10.1161/01.STR.0000125860.48180.48
  • 9
    Oliveira-Filho J, Martins SC, Pontes-Neto OM, Longo A, Evaristo EF, Carvalho JJ, et al.. Guidelines for acute ischemic stroke treatment: part I. Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2012 Aug;70(8):621-9. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0004-282X2012000800012
    » https://doi.org/10.1590/S0004-282X2012000800012
  • 10
    Martins SC, Freitas GR, Pontes-Neto OM, Pieri A, Moro CH, Jesus PA, et al. Guidelines for acute ischemic stroke treatment: part II: stroke treatment. Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2012 Nov;70(11):885-93. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0004-282X2012001100012
    » https://doi.org/10.1590/S0004-282X2012001100012
  • 11
    Pontes-Neto OM, Oliveira-Filho J, Valiente R, Friedrich M, Pedreira B, Rodrigues BC, et al. [Brazilian guidelines for the manegement of intracerebral hemorrhage]. Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2009 Sep;67 3B:940-50.Portuguese. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0004-282X2009000500034
    » https://doi.org/10.1590/S0004-282X2009000500034
  • 12
    Lyden P. Using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale: A Cautionary Tale. Stroke. 2017 Feb;48(2):513-9. https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.116.015434
    » https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.116.015434
  • 13
    Shemilt I, Thomas J, Morciano M. A web-based tool for adjusting costs to a specific target currency and price year. Evid Policy. 2010;6(1):51-9. https://doi.org/10.1332/174426410X482999
    » https://doi.org/10.1332/174426410X482999
  • 14
    Kwatra G, Kaur P, Toor G, Badyal DK, Kaur R, Singh Y, et al. Cost of stroke from a tertiary center in northwest India. Neurol India. 2013 Nov-Dec;61(6):627-32. https://doi.org/10.4103/0028-3886.125270
    » https://doi.org/10.4103/0028-3886.125270
  • 15
    Yoneda Y, Uehara T, Yamasaki H, Kita Y, Tabuchi M, Mori E. Hospital-based study of the care and cost of acute ischemic stroke in Japan. Stroke. 2003 Mar;34(3):718-24. https://doi.org/10.1161/01.STR.0000056171.55342.FF
    » https://doi.org/10.1161/01.STR.0000056171.55342.FF
  • 16
    Buisman LR, Tan SS, Nederkoorn PJ, Koudstaal PJ, Redekop WK. Hospital costs of ischemic stroke and TIA in the Netherlands. Neurology. 2015 Jun;84(22):2208-15. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000001635
    » https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000001635
  • 17
    Brinjikji W, Rabinstein AA, Cloft HJ. Hospitalization costs for acute ischemic stroke patients treated with intravenous thrombolysis in the United States are substantially higher than medicare payments. Stroke. 2012 Apr;43(4):1131-3. https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.111.636142
    » https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.111.636142
  • 18
    Rai AT, Boo S, Buseman C, Adcock AK, Tarabishy AR, Miller MM, et al. Intravenous thrombolysis before endovascular therapy for large vessel strokes can lead to significantly higher hospital costs without improving outcomes. J Neurointerv Surg. 2018 Jan;10(1):17-21. https://doi.org/10.1136/neurintsurg-2016-012830
    » https://doi.org/10.1136/neurintsurg-2016-012830
  • 19
    Wei JW, Heeley EL, Jan S, Huang Y, Huang Q, Wang JG, et al. Variations and determinants of hospital costs for acute stroke in China. PLoS One. 2010 Sep;5(9):e13041. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0013041
    » https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0013041
  • 20
    Asil T, Celik Y, Sut N, Celik AD, Balci K, Yilmaz A, et al. Cost of acute ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke in Turkey. Clin Neurol Neurosurg. 2011 Feb;113(2):111-4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clineuro.2010.09.014 PMID:21036465
    » https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clineuro.2010.09.014
  • 21
    Nor Azlin MN, Syed Aljunid SJ, Noor Azahz A, Amrizal MN, Saperi S. Direct medical cost of stroke: findings from a tertiary hospital in malaysia. Med J Malaysia. 2012 Oct;67(5):473-7.
  • 22
    Specogna AV, Patten SB, Turin TC, Hill MD. Cost of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage in Canada during 1 decade. Stroke. 2014 Jan;45(1):284-6. https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.113.003276
    » https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.113.003276
  • 23
    Dodel R, Winter Y, Ringel F, Spottke A, Gharevi N, Müller I, et al. Cost of illness in subarachnoid hemorrhage: a German longitudinal study. Stroke. 2010 Dec;41(12):2918-23. https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.110.586826
    » https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.110.586826
  • 24
    Venketasubramanian N, Yin A. Hospital costs for stroke care in Singapore. Cerebrovasc Dis. 2000 Jul-Aug;10(4):320-6. https://doi.org/10.1159/000016077
    » https://doi.org/10.1159/000016077
  • 25
    Brinjikji W, Kallmes DF, Lanzino G, Cloft HJ. Hospitalization costs for endovascular and surgical treatment of ruptured aneurysms in the United States are substantially higher than Medicare payments. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2012 Jun;33(6):1037-40. https://doi.org/10.3174/ajnr.A2938
    » https://doi.org/10.3174/ajnr.A2938
  • 26
    Qureshi AI, Adil MM, Zacharatos H, Suri MF. Factors associated with length of hospitalization in patients admitted with transient ischemic attack in United States. Stroke. 2013 Jun;44(6):1601-5. https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.111.000590
    » https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.111.000590
  • 27
    Achit H, Soudant M, Hosseini K, Bannay A, Epstein J, Bracard S, et al. Cost-effectiveness of thrombectomy in patients with acute ischemic stroke: the THRACE randomized controlled trial. Stroke. 2017 Oct;48(10):2843-7. https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.117.017856
    » https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.117.017856
  • 28
    Shireman TI, Wang K, Saver JL, Goyal M, Bonafé A, Diener HC, et al.; SWIFT-PRIME Investigators. Cost-effectiveness of solitaire stent retriever thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke: results from the SWIFT-PRIME trial (solitaire with the intention for thrombectomy as primary endovascular treatment for acute ischemic stroke). Stroke. 2017 Feb;48(2):379-87. https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.116.014735
    » https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.116.014735
  • 29
    Araújo DV, Teich V, Passos RB, Martins SC. Analysis of the cost-effectiveness of thrombolysis with alteplase in stroke. Arq Bras Cardiol. 2010;95(1):12-20. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0066-782X2010005000067
    » https://doi.org/10.1590/S0066-782X2010005000067
  • Support: This study was supported by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, CNPq Grant 402396/2013-8.

Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    15 00 2019
  • Date of issue
    June 2019

History

  • Received
    20 Aug 2018
  • Received
    22 Jan 2019
  • Accepted
    12 Feb 2019
Academia Brasileira de Neurologia - ABNEURO R. Vergueiro, 1353 sl.1404 - Ed. Top Towers Offices Torre Norte, 04101-000 São Paulo SP Brazil, Tel.: +55 11 5084-9463 | +55 11 5083-3876 - São Paulo - SP - Brazil
E-mail: revista.arquivos@abneuro.org