Economic burden of nosocomial infections caused by vancomycin-resistant enterococci

BACKGROUND: Nosocomial infections due to vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) have become a major problem during the last years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the economic burden of nosocomial VRE infections in a European university hospital. METHODS: A retrospective matched case-control study was performed including patients who acquired nosocomial infection with either VRE or vancomycin-susceptible enterococci (VSE) within a time period of 3 years. 42 cases with VRE infections and 42 controls with VSE infections were matched for age, gender, admission and discharge within the same year, time at risk for infection, Charlson comorbidity index (±1), stay on intensive care units and non-intensive care units as well as for the type of infection, using criteria of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. RESULTS: The median overall costs per case were significantly higher than for controls (EUR 57,675 vs. EUR 38,344; p = 0.030). Costs were similar between cases and controls before onset of infection (EUR 17,893 vs. EUR 16,600; p = 0.386), but higher after onset of infection (EUR 37,971 vs. EUR 23,025; p = 0.049). The median attributable costs per case for vancomycin-resistance were EUR 13,157 (p = 0.036). The most significant differences in costs between cases and controls turned out to be for pharmaceuticals (EUR 6030 vs. EUR 2801; p = 0.008) followed by nursing staff (EUR 8956 vs. EUR 4621; p = 0.032), medical products (EUR 3312 vs. EUR 1838; p = 0.020), and for assistant medical technicians (EUR 3766 vs. EUR 2474; p = 0.023). Furthermore, multivariate analysis revealed that costs were driven independently by vancomycin-resistance (1.4 fold; p = 0.034). CONCLUSIONS: This analysis suggested that nosocomial VRE infections significantly increases hospital costs compared with VSE infections. Therefore, hospital personal should implement control measures to prevent VRE transmission.