Economic burden of Cardiac Arrest in Spain: analyzing healthcare costs drivers and treatment strategies cost-effectiveness

BACKGROUND: Cardiac arrest is a major public health issue in Europe. Cardiac arrest seems to be associated with a large socioeconomic burden in terms of resource utilization and health care costs. The aim of this study is the analysis of the economic burden of cardiac arrest in Spain and a cost-effectiveness analysis of the key intervention identified, especially in relation to neurological outcome at discharge. METHODS: The data comes from the information provided by 115 intensive care and cardiology units from Spain, including information on the care of patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest who had a return of spontaneous circulation. The information reported by theses 115 units was collected by a nationwide survey conducted between March and September 2020. Along with number of patients (2631), we also collect information about the structure of the units, temperature management, and prognostication assessments. In this study we analyze the potential association of several factors with neurological outcome at discharge, and the cost associated with the different factors. The cost-effectiveness of using servo-control for temperature management is analyzed by means of a decision model, based on the results of the survey and data collected in the literature, for a one-year and a lifetime time horizon. RESULTS: A total of 109 cardiology units provided results on neurological outcome at discharge as evaluated with the cerebral performance category (CPC). The most relevant factor associated with neurological outcome at discharge was ‘servo-control use’, showing a 12.8% decrease in patients with unfavorable neurological outcomes (i.e., CPC3-4 vs. CPC1-2). The total cost per patient (2020 Euros) was €73,502. Only “servo-control use” was associated with an increased mean total cost per hospital. Patients treated with servo-control for temperature management gained in the short term (1 year) an average of 0.039 QALYs over those who were treated with other methods at an increased cost of €70.8, leading to an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of 1,808 euros. For a lifetime time horizon, the use of servo-control is both more effective and less costly than the alternative. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest the implementation of servo-control techniques in all the units that are involved in managing the cardiac arrest patient from admission until discharge from hospital to minimize the neurological damage to patients and to reduce costs to the health and social security system. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-023-10274-4.