Myocardial Infarction Complications After Surgery in Vietnam: Estimates of Incremental Cost, Readmission Risk, and Length of Hospital Stay

Myocardial infarction is a considerable burden on public health. However, there is a lack of information about its economic impact on both the individual and national levels. This study aims to estimate the incremental cost, readmission risk, and length of hospital stay due to myocardial infarction as a post-operative complication. We used data from a standardized national system managed by the Vietnam Social Insurance database. The original sample size was 1,241,893 surgical patients who had undergone one of seven types of surgery. A propensity score matching method was applied to create a matched sample for cost analysis. A generalized linear model was used to estimate direct treatment costs, the length of stay, and the effect of the complication on the readmission of surgical patients. Myocardial infarction occurs most frequently after vascular surgery. Patients with a myocardial infarction complication were more likely to experience readmission within 30 and 90 days, with an OR of 3.45 (95%CI: 2.92–4.08) and 4.39 (95%CI: 3.78–5.10), respectively. The increments of total costs at 30 and 90 days due to post-operative myocardial infarction were 4,490.9 USD (95%CI: 3882.3–5099.5) and 4,724.6 USD (95%CI: 4111.5–5337.8) per case, while the increases in length of stay were 4.9 (95%CI: 3.6–6.2) and 5.7 (95%CI: 4.2–7.2) per case, respectively. Perioperative myocardial infarction contributes significantly to medical costs for the individual and the national economy. Patients with perioperative myocardial infarction are more likely to be readmitted and face a longer treatment duration.