The differential burden of 3 health care-associated infections on hospital costs and lengths of stay: A quasi-experimental case-control observation

Abstract

In patients with a health care-associated infection (HAI), lengths of stay and costs increased >150% from 2019 to 2023, and were 2 to 6 times greater compared to concurrent non-HAI patients with the same diagnoses. Unlike surgical HAI, no device-associated HAI occurred before hospital day 12. These findings highlight the possibly under-recognized influence of delayed discharges on device-associated HAIs.

Keywords: Excess antibiotics; Excess days; Excess dollars; Length of stay.