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Open Access 01-12-2015 | Research

Cost of care and social consequences of very low birth weight infants without premature- related morbidities in Italy

Authors: Maria Caterina Cavallo, Attilio Gugiatti, Giovanni Fattore, Simone Gerzeli, Dario Barbieri, Rinaldo Zanini, on behalf of the Neonatal Adequate Care for Quality of Life (NEO-ACQUA) Study Group

Published in: Italian Journal of Pediatrics | Issue 1/2015

Abstract

Aim of this study was to estimate the cost that is borne by the Italian National Health Service, families, and social security due to very low birth weight infants (VLBWIs) without prematurity-related morbidities up to the age of 18 months. We followed up on 150 VLBWIs and 145 comparable full-term infants (FTIs) who were born in one of 25 different neonatal intensive care units upon discharge from the hospital and at six and 18 months of age. The average length of the primary hospitalisation of the VLBWIs was 59.7 days (SD 21.6 days), with a total cost of €20,502 (SD €8409), compared with three days (SD 0.4 days) with a total cost of €907 (SD €304) for the FTIs. The total societal cost of the VLBWIs for the first 18 months of life was €58,098 (SD €21,625), while the corresponding figure for FTIs was €24,209 (SD €15,557). Among VLBWIs, both low birth weight and gestational age were correlated with the length of hospitalisation after birth (r² = 0.61 and r² = 0.57, respectively; p values < 0.0005). Our findings highlight that the existing DRGs and tariffs inadequately reflect the actual costs for Italian National Health Service.

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Title: Cost of care and social consequences of very low birth weight infants without premature- related morbidities in Italy
Authors: Maria Caterina Cavallo
Attilio Gugiatti
Giovanni Fattore
Simone Gerzeli
Dario Barbieri
Rinaldo Zanini
on behalf of the Neonatal Adequate Care for Quality of Life (NEO-ACQUA) Study Group
Publication date: 01-12-2015
Publisher: BioMed Central
Published in: Italian Journal of Pediatrics / Issue 1/2015
Electronic ISSN: 1824-7288
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13052-015-0165-z

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Cost of care and social consequences of very low birth weight infants without premature- related morbidities in Italy

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