The burden of surgical site infections in Australia: A cost-of-illness study

Objective: To estimate the cost of surgical site infections in Australian public hospitals in 2018-19, to demonstrate the economic burden of hospital-associated infection in a well-resourced health system.Methods: A cost-of-illness analysis was conducted over a 1-year time horizon based on data from published literature extrapolated using simulation techniques. The direct and indirect costs of SSI were estimated for Australia and each of its states and territories.Results: An estimated 16,541 cases of SSI occurred in Australian public hospitals in 2018-19, resulting in a total direct cost of A$323.5 million. The average cost per case was A$18,814, which was 2.5 times the average per capita spending on health. The indirect costs of absenteeism and premature death were valued at A$23.0 million and A$2 948.1 million per annum, respectively.Conclusion: SSI is a significant but preventable cost with most of the financial burden coming from premature deaths but underreporting means our costs are likely underestimated.& COPY; 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences.This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

This study aims to estimate the cost of surgical site infections in Australian public hospitals in 2018-19, highlighting the economic burden of hospital-associated infection. A cost-of-illness analysis was conducted based on literature data and simulation techniques. The study found that there were approximately 16,541 cases of surgical site infections in Australian public hospitals in 2018-19, with a total direct cost of A$323.5 million and an average cost per case of A$18,814.