Intensive Care Cost Analysis of Patients with Acute Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases from Two University Hospitals

Objective: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a leading cause of death worldwide with a continued rising mortality rate, and it represents a major socioeconomic burden. The aim of this study was to examine the costs of acute exacerbation of COPD patients admitted to two different university hospital intensive care units. Material and Methods: We analyzed 156 patients (128 male and 28 female) who were admitted for treatment of acute exacerbations of COPD from January 1, 2005 to June 15, 2008. Results: The mean age of the patients was 68.2 years. The mean length of hospitalisation stay was 10.4 days. The costs were different between survivors and non-survivors. There was a statistically significant difference between survivors and non-survivors groups in all costs except bed costs, laboratory costs, radiology costs and consultation costs. Conclusion: These results suggest that the cost of patients with acute exacerbations of COPD represents a considerable economic burden for the health care system in Turkey.