Central-line blood infections remain costly for children

(HealthDay)—In pediatric inpatient settings, the rates of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) have improved, but infections remain costly and correlate with high length-of-stay (LOS), according to a study published online May 5 in Pediatrics.

Anthony Goudie, Ph.D., from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, and colleagues conducted a propensity score-matched case-control study involving children <18 years with inpatient discharges in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample databases from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (2008 to 2011). To determine the cost and LOS attributable to CLABSI, discharges with CLABSI (1,339 cases) were age- and year- matched to those without CLABSI (2,678 controls).

The researchers found that the mean attributable cost for CLABSI cases and non-CLABSI controls was $55,646 (2011 dollars) and LOS was 19 days. The rate of pediatric CLABSI declined from 1.08 to 0.60 per 1,000 (P < 0.001) between 2008 and 2011. Over the same time period, the estimates of mean costs of treating patients with CLABSI declined from $111,852 to $98,621 (P < 0.001), while the cost of treating matched non-CLABSI patients remained constant at approximately $48,000.

"Despite significant improvement in rates, CLABSI remains a burden on patients, families, and payers," the authors write.

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