Diagnosis and Treatment Approach of Children with Acute Gastroenteritis in A Tertiary Center: Medical Cost Analysis

Introduction: Although there are well defined guidelines in the literature for diagnosis and treatment of acute gastroenteritis which is common diseases in children, most of time patients are not managed according to these guidelines and unnecessary tests and treatments are performed. The unnecessary tests and treatments costs account for a significant percentage of healthcare spending. We aimed to analyze the diagnostic and therapeutic cost of patients with acute gastroenteritis who admitted to the tertiary center in Turkey. Materials and Methods: A total of 342 patients, aged under 18 years were admitted to Gazi University Hospital and diagnosed with acute gastroenteritis were included to the study. The clinical features, diagnosis and treatment approach and medical costs of the patients were recorded and analyzed. The medical costs were calculated according to the bills which were sent to Social Security Foundation known as SGK. Results: According to the bills which were sent to SGK the mean total cost was calculated $22.99 +/- 13.40, the mean laboratory test cost was $11.14 +/- 9.72 and the mean cost of the treatment in the hospital was $2.64 +/- 6.21. 70% of testing cost and 90% of treatment cost were inappropriate according to the current guideline recommendation about diagnose and treatment of acute gastroenteritis. Conclusion: Health professionals, especially pediatricians, should aim to apply appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, taking into account current guidelines. In this way, it will be possible to reduce medical costs and avoid waste in acute gastroenteritis cases.

Automated summary

Analysis on medical costs of patients with acute gastroenteritis in a tertiary center in Turkey showed that a significant percentage of testing and treatment costs were inappropriate according to current guidelines. Health professionals, especially pediatricians, should aim to apply appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to reduce medical costs and avoid waste in acute gastroenteritis cases.