Cost a Major Concern at CHEST 2012

Cost has been front of mind for many researchers that have released new study data at this year’s CHEST conference. Here are some of the highlights from the new research.

Gardner-Gray et al presented the results of their study, Cost Savings Associated With Compliance to an Early Sepsis Intervention Strategy. The purpose of this project was to identify Early Sepsis Intervention Strategy (ESIS) compliance in an effort to show a reduction of in-hospital costs. The study included a retrospective data analysis of 926 patients with severe sepsis and septic shock in an urban academic tertiary care hospital over a 2-year period. The research team concluded that “adherence to an ESIS not only reduced mortality but also associated healthcare costs.” Additionally, the authors mentioned that if their results with ESIS compliance are generalized and applied to Medicare and Medicaid patients with severe sepsis that “cost savings of up to $28 billion per year are projected for the United States.”

Tanriverdi et al examined the cost of acute exacerbation of COPD in a 1-year period in a second level hospital for their study, Direct Costs of Acute Exacerbation of COPD Patients in a Second Level Hospital. The researchers reported that COPD “is a frequent cause of hospitalizations, disability, and death, and generates a great social and economic burden” and that “most of direct cost of COPD is due to hospitalization, antibiotic use, and bed cost.” In addition, the study authors make a point to mention the importance of preventing COPD by avoiding risk factors such as smoking.

Darnell et al presented data from their study, Factors Associated With Healthcare Cost in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) at the Cincinnati Veterans Administration Medical Center. The aim of their study was to determine the clinical factors associated with the cost of COPD management by analyzing the relationship between clinical characteristics and healthcare costs due to COPD in patients at the Cincinnati VAMC. After evaluating 3263 unique individuals, the researchers found that “the total number of admissions, clinic visits, physiologic impairment, BMI, number of medications, and type of provider are strongly associated with the total cost of COPD management.”

Chan et al released their study, Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis for Acute Deep Vein Thrombosis: A Cost-effectiveness Analysis, at this year’s conference. The authors noted that “post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS) often complicates acute deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and may lead to major symptoms that limit quality of life.” Although catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) has recently been shown to reduce the risk for PTS, it is “invasive, costly, and may result in major bleeding.” For these reasons, the research team performed a decision analysis in order to determine whether CDT is cost-effective. Ultimately, the study authors determined that “although CDT may significantly reduce the risk for PTS following acute DVT, this approach is not cost-effective,” and that “the limited impact of CDT and uncertainty surrounding its efficacy elucidate why this approach proves cost-ineffective.”

To read more about research highlights at CHEST 2012, please visit the American College of Chest Physicians website.