Fitxers

875395.pdf (631.52 KB)

Tipus de document

Article

Versió

Versió publicada

Data de publicació

2024-12-03

Llicència de publicació

cc-by (c) Oliveras, C. et al., 2024
Si us plau utilitzeu sempre aquest identificador per citar o enllaçar aquest document: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/224365

Effects of alcohol-related problems on the costs of frequent emergency department use: an economic analysis of a case–control study in Spain

Títol de la revista

Autors

Director/Tutor

ISSN de la revista

Títol del volum

Recurs relacionat

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1322327

Resum

Introduction: Alcohol-related problems increase the probability of frequent emergency department (ED) use. In this study, we compared the direct healthcare expenses incurred during a single visit among frequent and non-frequent ED users and analyzed the impact of alcohol-related issues in healthcare costs arising from ED usage. Methods: The study relied on secondary analyses of economic data from a 1:1 matched case-control study with the primary aim of identifying the clinical characteristics of hospital ED frequent users in a Mediterranean European environment with a public, universal, and tax-funded health system. The participants ranged in age from 18 to 65 years and underwent ED visits at a high-complexity Spanish hospital (cases ≥5 times, controls <5) from December 2018 to November 2019. Each case was matched to a control with the same age, gender, and date of attendance at the ED. Clinical data and direct healthcare costs for a single ED visit were obtained by a retrospective review of the first electronic medical register. Costs and duration of stay were compared between cases and controls using paired-samples t-tests, and ED users with and without alcohol-related problems were compared using bivariate (independent-samples t-tests, one-way analysis of variance, Chi square tests, and multiple linear regression) and multivariate analyses (multiple linear regression models with backward stepwise selection algorithm, and dependent variable: total mean direct costs). Results: Among 609 case-control pairs (total n = 1218), mean total healthcare direct costs per ED visit were 22.2% higher among frequent compared with non-frequent users [mean difference 44.44 euros; 95% confidence interval (CI) 13.4-75.5; t(608) = 2.811; p = 0.005]. Multiple linear regression identified length of stay, triage level, ambulance arrival, and the specialty discharging the patient as associated with total healthcare costs for frequent users. In bivariate analyses, a history of alcohol-related problems was associated with a 32.5% higher mean total healthcare costs among frequent users [mean difference 72.61 euros; 95% confidence interval 25.24-119.97; t(320.016) = 3.015; p = 0.003]. Conclusion: The findings confirm the high cost of frequent ED use among people with alcohol-related problems, suggesting that costs could be reduced through implementation of intervention protocols.

Matèries

Alcohol, Serveis d'urgències mèdiques, Psiquiatria

Matèries (anglès)

Alcohol, Emergency medical services, Psychiatry

Citació

Col·leccions

Articles publicats en revistes (Medicina)

Citació

GUAL, Antoni, et al. Effects of alcohol-related problems on the costs of frequent emergency department use: an economic analysis of a case–control study in Spain. Frontiers In Public Health. 2024. Vol. 12. ISSN 2296-2565. [consulted: 24 of May of 2026]. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/224365

Exportar metadades

JSON - METS

Compartir registre