Hospital costs in patients with bronchiolitis. July – October, 2015

Abstract

Introduction: bronchiolitis is the most common lower respiratory infection in Infants.
Objective: to determine hospital costs in patients with bronchiolitis admitted to the Pediatric Teaching Hospital Luis A. Milanés Tamayo
Method: a descriptive, retrospective and cross-sectional study of 289 patients admitted with the diagnosis of acute bronchiolitis in the period from July to October of 2015 at the Pediatric General Teaching Hospital Luis A. Milanés Tamayo of Bayamo, was carried out. Collected data were entered into a database, and analyzed using SPSS 22 statistical software for Windows. Relative and absolute frequencies were used. 
Results: the age group of children under one-year-old predominated with 98.2 %. 4, 8% were admitted directly to PICU. 95.2 % of patients were admitted to respiratory service, 82, 4% of them, remained at this service, and 12, 8% were later transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). All patients received symptomatic treatment and early oxygen therapy on admission, those were the most used therapies. The overall cost for drugs reached $ 826.00; magnesium sulfate, salbutamol solution and vancomycin were the medication that affected most. Chest X-rays and microbiological studies were among the most cost-effective adjuncts.
Conclusions: the final cost for hospitalization was low, most of the patients Were admitted for less than 72 hours, and all patients had a favorable outcome.