For an 18-month period, 2,487 intensive care patients requiring mechanical ventilation were tracked to determine both an average ventilator length of stay (VLOS) and a base intensive care unit (ICU) cost directly related to resource consumption.
Methods
Costs were derived from the application of the Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System versus assigning hospital charges to the data. Costs were applied in relation to resource consumption over time. Data from each hospital unit were compared and a Pearson correlation coefficient was used to evaluate the data.
Results
Overall, the average VLOS was 68 hours. Total base costs for the 2,487 patients totaled $14.9 million. Base costs per patient ($2,114.76/day) indicated that an unnecessary continuation of mechanical ventilation for even a 12-hour period is expensive. There was a direct correlation (r = 0.99) between VLOS and cost per patient.
Conclusions
Mechanical ventilation is a prime indicator of high resource consumption and cost; VLOS has a direct relationship to the cost per patient. Further investigation is necessary regarding VLOS, diagnosis, severity of illness, morbidity, and mortality of the mechanically ventilated patient population in specific ICU settings.
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