Study on the economic impact of antibiotic overuse and antibiotic-resistant infections

The Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (APUA) and Cook County Hospital (currently John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County), today announced the release of an eye-opening study on the economic impact of antibiotic overuse and antibiotic-resistant infections (ARIs) sponsored by an unrestricted educational grant from bioMerieux and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The authors conducted an exhaustive chart-by-chart review of 1,391 patients hospitalized in the year 2000, 188 of which had ARIs (13.5%). The medical costs attributed to these ARIs ranged from $18,588 to $29,069 per patient, while the duration of hospital stay was extended 6.4 - 12.7 days for affected patients. Additionally, the excess mortality attributed to ARIs alone was 6.5% -- a death rate two-fold higher than in patients without ARIs. The authors also estimated the societal costs incurred at this hospital as a result of the ARIs to be between $10.7 and $15 million, which is the cost that hits the families of those infected.

The study, titled "Hospital and Societal Costs of Antimicrobial Resistant Infections in a Chicago Teaching Hospital: Implications for Antibiotic Stewardship," analyzed the medical and human cost associated with ARIs. It was conducted at the Cook County (Stroger) Hospital of Chicago, IL. Several studies have looked at the medical costs of these infections, but this is the first to look at the cost to families as well.

Antibiotic resistance is fueled by misuse and overuse of antibiotics. Bacteria become resistant to the very medicines developed to treat and cure the infection they cause. ARIs include methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), and a growing number of additional pathogens that are developing resistance to many common antibiotics.

The study will be published in the Oct. 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, published by the Infectious Disease Society of America.

"The findings indicate that significant health and economic benefits could be realized through effective interventions to reduce antimicrobial-resistant and healthcare-associated infections," according to Dr. Rebecca Roberts, Department of Emergency Medicine, Cook County (Stroger) Hospital and the lead study author.

"At a time when our country is debating how to deliver better, more affordable care, this study demonstrates the enormous cost savings that could be realized, for both the healthcare system and to individuals and their families. These costs will only continue to increase if we don't amend our behavior and practice a more prudent usage of antibiotics," said Dr. Stuart Levy, professor of medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, a senior author of the paper and co-founder and president of the APUA, which initiated the study in accord with its mission to "preserve the power of antibiotics".