Household and hospitalization costs of pediatric dengue illness in Colombo, Sri Lanka

• Verfasst von: Fernando, Enoka Sonali [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Headley, Tyler Y. [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Tissera, Hasitha [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Wilder-Smith, Annelies [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Silva, Amala De [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Tozan, Yesim [VerfasserIn]
• Titel: Household and hospitalization costs of pediatric dengue illness in Colombo, Sri Lanka
• Verf.angabe: Enoka Sonali Fernando, Tyler Y. Headley, Hasitha Tissera, Annelies Wilder-Smith, Amala De Silva, Yesim Tozan
• E-Jahr: 2021
• Jahr: 17 May 2021
• Umfang: 7 S.
• Fussnoten: Gesehen am 06.10.2021
• Titel Quelle: Enthalten in: The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene
• Ort Quelle: Northbrook, Ill. : American Soc. of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 1921
• Jahr Quelle: 2021
• Band/Heft Quelle: 105(2021), 1, Seite 110-116
• ISSN Quelle: 1476-1645
• DOI: doi:10.4269/ajtmh.20-1179
• Datenträger: Online-Ressource
• Sprache: eng
• K10plus-PPN: 1772561452

Abstract

Abstract. Dengue, a mosquito-borne viral infection that affects millions around the world, poses a substantial economic burden in endemic countries. We conducted a prospective costing study in hospitalized pediatric dengue patients at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children (LRHC), a public pediatric hospital in Colombo district, Sri Lanka, to assess household out-of-pocket and hospitalization costs of dengue in pediatric patients during peak dengue transmission season. Between August and October 2013, we recruited 216 hospitalized patients (aged 0-3 years, 27%; 4-7 years, 29%; 8-12 years, 42%) who were clinically or laboratory diagnosed with dengue. Using 2013 US dollars, household out-of-pocket spending, on average, was US$59 (SD 49) per episode and increased with disease severity (DF, US$52; DHF/DSS, US$78). Pediatric dengue patients received free-of-charge medical care during hospitalization at LRHC, and this places a high financial burden on hospitals. The direct medical cost of hospitalization was US$68 (SD 31.4) for DF episode, and US$122.7 (SD 65.2) for DHF/DSS episode. Yet a hospitalized dengue illness episode still accounted for 20% to 35% of household monthly income due to direct and indirect costs. Additionally, a majority of caregivers (70%) sought outpatient care before hospitalization, most of whom (81%) visited private health facilities. Our findings indicate that hospitalized pediatric dengue illness poses a nontrivial cost burden to households and healthcare systems, emphasizing the importance of preventing and controlling the transmission of dengue in endemic countries.