Objective: Estimate inpatient hospitalization costs for patients with microcephaly, and predict cost increases due to a potential Zika virus outbreak.
Methods: We identified Texas-wide inpatient hospitalization discharge records (2008-2015), for newborns and non-newborns with microcephaly. We estimated the cost of each hospitalization by applying cost-to-charge ratios on the actual hospitalization charge. For comparison, newborn visits for patients without microcephaly were also identified, and hospital costs were compared between patients with and without microcephaly. We estimated costs for microcephaly during the first year of life following a Zika outbreak (possible 1-50% increase in birth prevalence) in Texas.
Results: There were 8005 microcephaly hospitalizations ($203,899,042; total cost). The median admission cost for newborns with microcephaly (N = 1393) was higher compared to those without microcephaly ($6751 vs $725, p < 0.001). Microcephaly hospitalizations of newborns had a lower median cost compared to non-newborns ($6751 vs $9754, p < 0.001). Based on these observed hospitalization costs, we estimated that a potential Zika virus outbreak in Texas could result in an additional $1-6 million per year for hospitalizations.
Conclusion: Hospitalizations of patients with microcephaly are associated with high costs. An increase in microcephaly prevalence due to a Zika outbreak in Texas could have a considerable impact on health care costs.
Keywords: Hospital cost; Microcephaly; Zika virus.
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