[Hospital care expenses caused by acute fascioliasis, cystic echinococcosis, and neurocysticercosis in Santiago, Chile].

BACKGROUND

Acute fascioliasis (FA), cystic echinococcosis (CE) and neurocysticercosis (NCC) are three endemic parasitic diseases in Chile for whom there is scarce information about the economic impact they represent during management at the hospital.

AIMS: To quantify and compare hospital care expenses caused by these three endemic helminth infections in a Chilean hospital.

METHODS

Retrospective analysis of hospital costs at a referral hospital in Santiago between 2006 and 2010. Hospital databases were used to identify patients with the corresponding infections, and those with sufficient data on hospital costs were included.

RESULTS

A total of 16 patients representing 21 cases were identified and analyzed: four with AF, eleven with CE, and six with NCC. Median hospital expenses for cases with AF were US$ 1799 and mainly caused by bed-day costs. Median hospital costs for cases of CE were US$ 4707 and the most important costs components were medications, bed-day costs and consumables. NCC patients had median costs of US$ 1293, which were mainly due to bed-day costs. Non-parenchymatous or mixed forms of NCC showed a trend toward higher hospital costs compared with parenchymatous forms.

CONCLUSIONS

Although helminth infections in Chile, an upper middle income country, are declining and considered rare in routine clinical practice, hospital care expenses caused by patients with AF, CE, and NCC are high and might still present an important economic burden to the Chilean healthcare system.