Economic burden of stroke

Abstract

Objectives: This study aims to estimate the annual economic cost per hemiplegic patient in Turkey. Patients and methods: Between September 2014 and December 2014, a total of 84 hemiplegic patients (53 males, 31 females; mean age 61.4 +/- 13.5 years; range 28-89 years) with stroke for 12 months were included in the study. Type of cerebrovascular accident and complications were evaluated. Hospital records and data from the relatives of the patients were used to calculate the cost. Annual costs were evaluated starting from first hospitalization. Direct costs were calculated with the sum of hospital care (acute care, diagnostic investigations, treatment and rehabilitation), medications, medical visits, outpatient rehabilitation and orthopedic aids. Indirect costs were calculated by taking the income loss due to absence from work into consideration. Prices of medical resources were obtained from the 2014 Healthcare Implementation Notification payment list. Results: At the end of the study, the average direct cost and indirect cost per patient were calculated respectively as 10,594.90 +/- 6,554.20 Turkish liras and 9,357.10 +/- 10,195.60 Turkish liras (4,606.47 +/- 2,849.65 USD and 4,068.30 +/- 4,432.86 USD). We found a negative correlation between total cost and age (p=0.001), and a positive correlation with duration of hospitalization (p=0.001) and number of complications (p=0.049). We were unable to find any relation of cost with sex and cerebrovascular accident type. Spasticity (p=0.028) and epilepsy (p=0.037) being among the complications were observed to increase the cost. Conclusion: Stroke is an important economic burden for Turkish population. Preventive social measures are necessary to reduce this cost.