Patient characteristics and costs of severe sepsis and septic shock in Quebec

BACKGROUND: We investigated the cost of health care resources for the treatment of severe sepsis and/or septic shock patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred retrospective chart abstractions from patients with severe sepsis or septic shock were included. The average cost, per episode, through day 28, as well as an analysis of a patient subset through 1 year was calculated. Mean values for all abstracted patient's costs and outcomes, as well as analyses of the survivor and nonsurvivor populations, were undertaken. Data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information and recent published literature were used to estimate the number of severe sepsis cases, and the resulting burden of illness for Quebec. RESULTS: The mean cost for all patients abstracted was $11,474 per episode of care ($1,064/day). The survivors had a mean cost for their treatment of $16,228 per episode of care ($877/day). The total cost per episode was $7,584 per nonsurvivor ($1,724/day). An average cost of $27,481 for survivors after day 28 through 1 year was calculated. The burden of severe sepsis was estimated to be $36.4 to $72.9 million per year, but higher if costs beyond day 28 are included. CONCLUSIONS: The cost of severe sepsis is a significant burden to the Quebec health care system.