Hospital and Societal Costs of Antimicrobial‐Resistant Infections in a Chicago Teaching Hospital: Implications for Antibiotic Stewardship

Organisms resistant to antimicrobials continue to emerge and spread. This study was performed to measure the medical and societal cost attributable to antimicrobial-resistant infection (ARI).

A sample of high-risk hospitalized adult patients was selected. Measurements included ARI, total cost, duration of stay, comorbidities, acute pathophysiology, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation III score, intensive care unit stay, surgery, health care-acquired infection, and mortality. Hospital services used and outcomes were abstracted from electronic and written medical records. Medical costs were measured from the hospital perspective. A sensitivity analysis including 3 study designs was conducted. Regression was used to adjust for potential confounding in the random sample and in the sample expanded with additional patients with ARI. Propensity scores were used to select matched control subjects for each patient with ARI for a comparison of mean cost for patients with and without ARI.