Survival and Estimation of Direct Medical Costs of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Anas A. Khan, Yazed AlRuthia, Bander Balkhi, Sultan M. Alghadeer, Mohamad-Hani Temsah, Saqer M. Althunayyan and Yousef M. Alsofayan
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Anas A. Khan: Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Global Center for Mass Gatherings Medicine, Ministry of Health, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Yazed AlRuthia: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2454, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Bander Balkhi: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2454, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Sultan M. Alghadeer: Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2454, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Mohamad-Hani Temsah: College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Saqer M. Althunayyan: Department of Accident and Trauma, Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz College for Emergency Medical Services, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Yousef M. Alsofayan: Global Center for Mass Gatherings Medicine, Ministry of Health, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 20, 1-12

Abstract: Objectives: Assess the survival of hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients across age groups, sex, use of mechanical ventilators (MVs), nationality, and intensive care unit (ICU) admission in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methods: Data were retrieved from the Saudi Ministry of Health (MoH) between 1 March and 29 May 2020. Kaplan–Meier (KM) analyses and multiple Cox proportional-hazards regression were conducted to assess the survival of hospitalized COVID-19 patients from hospital admission to discharge (censored) or death. Micro-costing was used to estimate the direct medical costs associated with hospitalization per patient. Results: The number of included patients with complete status (discharge or death) was 1422. The overall 14-day survival was 0.699 (95%CI: 0.652–0.741). Older adults (>70 years) (HR = 5.00, 95%CI = 2.83–8.91), patients on MVs (5.39, 3.83–7.64), non-Saudi patients (1.37, 1.01–1.89), and ICU admission (2.09, 1.49–2.93) were associated with a high risk of mortality. The mean cost per patient (in SAR) for those admitted to the general Medical Ward (GMW) and ICU was 42,704.49 ± 29,811.25 and 79,418.30 ± 55,647.69, respectively. Conclusion: The high hospitalization costs for COVID-19 patients represents a significant public health challenge. Efficient allocation of healthcare resources cannot be emphasized enough.

Keywords: COVID-19; hospitalization; mortality; health care costs; Saudi Arabia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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