ABSTRACT
This study, conducted at Zhejiang Taizhou Hospital, China, aimed to examine the financial impact of nosocomial infections on surgical patients. A retrospective case-control study using propensity score matching was conducted over a 9-month period from January to September 2022. The study included 729 surgical patients with nosocomial infections and 2187 matched controls without infections. Medical expenses, length of hospitalization and total economic burden were compared between the two groups. The rate of nosocomial infections in surgical cases was 2.66%. The median hospitalization cost for patients with nosocomial infections was US$8220, compared with US$3294 for controls. The overall additional medical expenditure attributable to nosocomial infections amounted to US$4908. Notable median differences were observed between cases with nosocomial infections and controls in terms of total hospitalization cost, nursing services, medication, treatment, materials, test fees and blood transfusion fees. In each age group, medical costs for patients with nosocomial infections were more than twice those of controls. Additionally, hospital stays for surgical patients with nosocomial infections were, on average, 13 days longer compared with controls. These findings highlight the importance of implementing effective infection control measures in hospitals to reduce the financial burden on patients and the healthcare system.
