Treatment Charges for Traumatic Brain Injury Among Older Adults at a Trauma Center.
Jennifer S Albrecht, Julia F Slejko, Deborah M Stein and 1 others
PMID 28195959WHAT IT FOUND
Older adults hospitalized for traumatic brain injury at one trauma center averaged $36,075 in billed charges.
ICU and hospital length of stay drove costs most. Men had higher unadjusted charges than women.
Key findings
01The mean unadjusted total charge was $36,075. Hospital charges were $30,651 and made up 85% of the total; physician charges were $5,425 and made up 15%.
02Unadjusted total charges were $43,673 for men and $27,797 for women. After adjustment, charges were $894 lower in women.
03Hospital stay and ICU stay had the largest impact on adjusted mean total charges. A stay of at least 28 days added $236,657 compared with less than 1 day, and an ICU stay of at least 12 days added $70,247 compared with no ICU stay.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study looked at billed charges, not the amounts paid or actual resource costs. It was done at one urban Level 1+ trauma center in Maryland, so charges may not match other hospitals. It did not include costs of rehabilitation after discharge, which can be large. 187 people were excluded because charge data were incomplete; they differed in some injury and transport characteristics.
Declared interests
The authors declared no competing financial interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read $36,075 as the actual cost of care or a national figure. These are billed charges from one Maryland trauma center, not payments or resource costs, and they exclude post-discharge rehabilitation.