Health economic analysis of patients treated with isavuconazole in a German comprehensive cancer centre.

BACKGROUND: Invasive fungal diseases (IFD) are life-threatening and demand timely and appropriate treatment. Research showed that isavuconazole treatment positively affects clinical outcome and length of hospital stay (LOS). OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to assess the hospital costs of patients diagnosed with IFD and treated with isavuconazole using real-world data from a German cancer centre. PATIENTS/METHODS: Data and LOS collected from Jan-2016 to Jun-2021 at Department I of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne were retrieved. Case-related resources consumed during the hospital stay across isavuconazole routes of administration (oral, parenteral, and mixed administration) were identified, quantified, valued and compared via a cost analysis that adopted the healthcare payer perspective. RESULTS: In total, 101 cases with isavuconazole treatment were identified (oral: n = 22, 21.8%; parenteral: n = 59, 58.4%; mixed: n = 20, 19.8%). Median total LOS was greater in the mixed group (46.5 days; p = .009). Median ICU LOS and ventilation duration were both longest in the parenteral-only group (16 days, p = .008; 224 h, p = .003). Invasive aspergillosis was the most frequent isavuconazole indication (n = 86, 85.2%). Average hospital costs were highest in the mixed group (€ 101,226). The median overall costs of cases treated with isavuconazole was € 52,050. CONCLUSIONS: Treating IFD is resource intensive, often requires intensive care and implies high rates of in-hospital mortality. Our study emphasises the high hospital treatment costs and thus the need for reimbursement systems to enable live-saving costly treatments.

Alzheimer's Disease Plasma Biomarkers Distinguish Clinical Diagnostic Groups in Memory Clinic Patients.

INTRODUCTION: Several recent research studies show high performance of blood biomarkers to identify Alzheimer's disease also in the pre-dementia mild cognitive impairment (MCI) stage, but data from the routine clinical care memory clinic setting are needed. METHODS: We examined plasma samples of 144 memory clinic patients, including dementia of Alzheimer type (DAT, n = 54), MCI (n = 57), and subjective cognitive decline (SCD, n = 33), who either presented as self-referrals or were referred by general practitioners or neurologists or psychiatrists. The plasma biomarkers, amyloid-beta42 (Aß42), amyloid-beta40 (Aß40), phospho-Tau181 (pTau181), total-tau (tTau), and neurofilament light (NFL), as well as different ratios, were measured using the ultrasensitive single molecule array (Simoa) immunoassay technology. Statistical analysis including Kruskal-Wallis test, linear regression, and receiver operating characteristics analyses was performed. RESULTS: Of the single markers, we observed statistically significant group effects of pTau181 (H(2) = 34.43, p < 0.001) and NFL (H(2) = 27.66, p < 0.001). All individual group comparisons of pTau181 were significant, while the contrast of SCD versus MCI for NFL was not significant. In addition, the ratios of Aß42/Aß40 (H(2) = 7.50, p = 0.02) and pTau181/Aß42 (H(2) = 25.26, p < 0.001) showed significant group effects with significant difference between all groups for pTau181/Aß42 and an SCD versus MCI difference for Aß42/Aß40. PTau181 showed the highest area under the curve of 0.85 for the discrimination of SCD and DAT with a sensitivity of 80% and a specificity of 79% at a cut-off of 12.2 pg/mL. Age influenced Aß42, Aß40, and NFL concentrations. CONCLUSION: Plasma pTau181 and NFL, as well as the ratios Aß42/Aß40 and pTau181/Aß42, are biomarkers, which can differentiate diagnostic groups in a memory clinic setting outside of research studies.

Facilitators and barriers for the implementation of resuscitation training programmes for schoolchildren: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Training schoolchildren in resuscitation seems to improve rates of resuscitation by bystanders. Leading medical societies recommend comprehensive resuscitation education in schools. To date, no widespread implementation within the European Union has happened. OBJECTIVE: The study aim was to identify facilitators and barriers for the implementation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation training for schoolchildren within the European Union. DESIGN: Systematic review. DATA SOURCES: A literature search in PubMed was conducted between 1 January 1999 and 30 June 2020 in accordance with the PRISMA statement. The search terms 'resuscitation', 'children' and 'Europe' were combined with the Boolean Operator 'AND' and 'OR'. Medical subject heading terms were used in order to include relevant articles. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Articles were included if cardiopulmonary resuscitation training specifically tailored for schoolchildren aged 12 to 18 years was considered in countries of the European Union. Articles that fulfilled the following criteria were excluded: duplicates, training methods only for specific patient groups, articles not accessible in the English language, and articles that did not include original data.Findings were structured by an evidence-based six-level approach to examine barriers and facilitators in healthcare. RESULTS: Thirty out of 2005 articles were identified. Large variations in cardiopulmonary resuscitation training approaches ranging from conventional to innovative training methods can be observed. Schoolteachers as resuscitation instructors act either as barrier or facilitator depending on their personal attitude and their exposure to training in resuscitation. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation training in schoolchildren is effective. The uncoordinated interplay between the generally motivated schools and the political orientation towards resuscitation training for schoolchildren serve as barrier. The lack of financial support, absent systematic organisation, and standardisation of training create major barriers. CONCLUSION: Training schoolchildren in cardiopulmonary resuscitation is effective. More financial support and political guidance is needed. Until then, local initiatives, motivated teachers, and dedicated principles combined with innovative and low-cost training methods facilitate cardiopulmonary resuscitation training in schools.

Principal-agent theory-based cost and reimbursement structures of isavuconazole treatment in German hospitals.

BACKGROUND: Isavuconazole (ISA) is a frequently used antifungal agent for the treatment of invasive fungal diseases (IFDs). However, hospital reimbursement data for ISA is limited. OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this study was to analyse the different perspectives of relevant stakeholders and the (dis)incentives for the administration of ISA in Germany. To that aim, the health economic effects of using ISA from a hospital management perspective were analysed. PATIENTS/METHODS: Based on principal-agent theory (PAT), the perspectives of (a) the patient (principal) as well as (b) physicians, (c) pharmacists and iv. hospital managers (all agents) were analysed. For the evaluation of the cost-containment and reimbursement strategies of ISA, the German diagnosis-related group (G-DRG) system was used. RESULTS: Hospitals individually negotiating additional payments for innovative treatment procedures (zusatzentgelte [ZE]) within the G-DRG system is a key element of hospital management for the reduction of total healthcare expenditure. Our analysis demonstrated the beneficial role of ISA in healthcare resource utilisation, primarily due to a shortened overall length of hospital stay. Depending on underlying disease, coded G-DRG and ISA formulation, large differences in total reimbursement and the amount of ZE was shown. The PAT demonstrated disincentives for hospital managers to use innovative drugs. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the PAT, beneficial, detrimental and indifferent perspectives of different stakeholders regarding the usage of ISA were shown. A reduction of bureaucratic hurdles is needed in Germany for the extension of effective and innovative antifungal treatment strategies with ISA.

Clinical and pharmacoeconomic evaluation of antifungal prophylaxis with continuous micafungin in patients undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation: A six-year cohort analysis.

BACKGROUND: Patients undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplantation (aSCT) are at high risk to develop an invasive fungal disease (IFD). Optimisation of antifungal prophylaxis strategies may improve patient outcomes and reduce treatment costs. OBJECTIVES: To analyse the clinical and economical impact of using continuous micafungin as antifungal prophylaxis. PATIENTS/METHODS: We performed a single-centre evaluation comparing patients who received either oral posaconazole with micafungin as intravenous bridging as required (POS-MIC) to patients who received only micafungin (MIC) as antifungal prophylaxis after aSCT. Epidemiological, clinical and direct treatment cost data extracted from the Cologne Cohort of Neutropenic Patients (CoCoNut) were analysed. RESULTS: Three hundred and thirteen patients (97 and 216 patients in the POS-MIC and MIC groups, respectively) were included into the analysis. In the POS-MIC and MIC groups, median overall length of stay was 42 days (IQR: 35-52 days) vs 40 days (IQR: 35-49 days; p = .296), resulting in median overall costs of €42,964 (IQR: €35,040-€56,348) vs €43,291 (IQR: €37,281 vs €51,848; p = .993), respectively. Probable/proven IFD in the POS-MIC and MIC groups occurred in 5 patients (5%) vs 3 patients (1%; p = .051), respectively. The Kaplan-Meier analysis showed improved outcome of patients in the MIC group at day 100 (p = .037) and day 365 (p < .001) following aSCT. CONCLUSIONS: Our study results demonstrate improved outcomes in the MIC group compared with the POS-MIC group, which can in part be explained by a tendency towards less probable/proven IFD. Higher drug acquisition costs of micafungin did not translate into higher overall costs.

Reimbursement of innovative pharmaceuticals in English and Spanish hospitals-The example of isavuconazole.

BACKGROUND: Kron et al (Mycoses, 64, 2021, 86) found cost savings for the use of the innovative pharmaceutical isavuconazole in the inpatient setting in Germany (Bismarck-based healthcare system). Little is known about the reimbursement of innovative pharmaceuticals in the inpatient setting of Beveridge-based healthcare systems. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the market access process and reimbursement of isavuconazole, exemplary for innovative pharmaceuticals, in England and Spain. PATIENTS/METHODS: Market access processes of both countries were described. Focussing on typical patient clusters for isavuconazole treatment, reimbursement data regarding inpatients with (i) allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation or (ii) acute myeloid leukaemia was considered. Data were publicly available and of high topicality (England 2020/2021, Spain 2018). Discounting and a currency conversion to Euro were applied. RESULTS: This study showed that market access processes of both countries are broadly similar. Further, full reimbursement of isavuconazole as an innovative pharmaceutical may lead to reduction in resource utilisation. Without medication costs, isavuconazole can thus result in cost savings for both patient clusters due to a reduction in length of stay. CONCLUSIONS: Expenses for innovative pharmaceuticals may be balanced or even lead to cost savings due to a reduction in length of stay. The latter contributes to a greater patient benefit. For both healthcare system, the analyses highlighted drugs' cost-effectiveness and assessing its added value into reimbursement decisions is highly relevant.

A budget impact analysis of bezlotoxumab versus standard of care antibiotics only in patients at high risk of CDI recurrence from a hospital management perspective in Germany.

BACKGROUND: Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is one of the leading nosocomial infections, resulting in increased hospital length of stay and additional treatment costs. Bezlotoxumab, the first monoclonal antibody against CDI, has an 1 A guideline recommendation for prevention of CDI, after randomized clinical trials demonstrated its superior efficacy vs. placebo. METHODS: The budget impact analysis at hand is focused on patients at high risk of CDI recurrence. Treatment with standard of care (SoC) + bezlotoxumab was compared with current SoC alone in the 10 most associated Diagnosis Related Groups to identify, analyze, and evaluate potential cost savings per case from the German hospital management perspective. Based on variation in days to rehospitalization, three different case consolidation scenarios were assessed: no case consolidation, case consolidation for the SoC + bezlotoxumab treatment arm only, and case consolidation for both treatment arms. RESULTS: On average, the budget impact amounted to € 508.56 [range: € 424.85 - € 642.19] for no case consolidation, € 470.50 [range: € 378.75 - € 601.77] for case consolidation in the SoC + bezlotoxumab treatment arm, and € 618.00 [range: € 557.40 - € 758.41] for case consolidation in both treatment arms. CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrated administration of SoC + bezlotoxumab in patients at high risk of CDI recurrence is cost-saving from a hospital management perspective. Reduced length of stay in bezlotoxumab treated patients creates free spatial and personnel capacities for the treating hospital. Yet, a requirement for hospitals to administer bezlotoxumab is the previously made request for additional fees and a successful price negotiation.

Attributable mortality of candidemia after introduction of echinocandins.

OBJECTIVES: Candidemia is among the most frequent nosocomial bloodstream infections. Landmark case-control studies on amphotericin B and fluconazole estimated attributable mortality rates of 38% and 49%, respectively. After introduction of echinocandins, these may have decreased. METHODS: In a case-control design, 100 consecutive, hospitalised patients with candidemia were enrolled at the University Hospital of Cologne, Germany between 2014 and 2017. Controls were patients without candidemia matched for age, sex, year and duration of hospitalisation, main admission diagnosis and Patient Clinical Complexity Level (PCCL). Main data captured were risk factors for candidemia, attributable mortality rates and diagnostic and therapeutic adherence according to the EQUAL Candida score. RESULTS: Overall mortality rates for cases and controls were 43% and 17% (P < .001), respectively; day 30 mortality rates were 38% and 11% (P = .03), accounting for an attributable mortality of 26% and 27%. Guideline adherence was higher in surviving vs non-surviving patients: while survivors reached a median of 17 (IQR: 16-19) points, non-surviving cases reached a median 16 (IQR: 14-18) points out of 22 maximum achievable points (P = .028). Risk factors for candidemia were more frequent in cases compared to control patients, especially chronic pulmonary disease (25% vs 16%; P = n.s.), chronic liver disease (21% vs 6%; P = .002), stay on intensive care unit (70% vs 64%; P = n.s.), respiratory failure (56% vs 50%; P = n.s.) and central venous catheter (97% vs 35%; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Attributable mortality of nosocomial candidemia is still substantial but has decreased compared to previous studies with similar design.

A Retrospective Budget Impact Analysis of Fidaxomicin Treatment for Clostridioides difficile Infections (CDI) in Germany.

BACKGROUND: Clostridioides difficile is the most common cause of healthcare-associated diarrhea. Research suggests that treating C. difficile infections (CDI) with fidaxomicin (FDX) is more effective than vancomycin (VAN), with potential cost savings. The objective was to calculate the budget impact of FDX treatment compared to VAN from a German payer perspective. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The analysis used real-world data of patients discharged from University Hospital Cologne between Jan-01-2018 and Dec-31-2019. We identified recurrent and non-recurrent CDI cases and calculated direct treatment costs based on G-DRG flat rates. To calculate average costs per treatment and the budget impact, recurrence probabilities for VAN and FDX were taken from published evidence (28-day and 90-day scenarios). RESULTS: Totally, 475 cases were analyzed, thereof 421 non-recurrent, causing mean costs of €32,901 per case (95% CI: 27.752-38.050). Thirty-two patients experienced a recurrence within 28 days, yielding mean costs of €10,952 (95% CI: 5.627-16.277) for their additional hospital stay. The resulting budget impact was €1,303 (95% CI: 670 - 1.937) in favor of FDX, ranging from €148.34 to €2,190.30 in scenario analyses. CONCLUSION: The analysis indicates FDX treatment can lead to cost savings compared to VAN. Future research should focus on specific patient groups, such as refractory CDI patients.

Real-world experience with letermovir for cytomegalovirus-prophylaxis after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation: A multi-centre observational study.

OBJECTIVES: Efficacy and safety of letermovir as prophylaxis for clinically significant cytomegalovirus infections (csCVMi) was evaluated in randomized controlled trials while most of the real-world studies are single-centre experiences. METHODS: We performed a retrospective, multi-centre case-control study at six German university hospitals to evaluate clinical experiences in patients receiving CMV prophylaxis with letermovir (n = 200) compared to controls without CMV prophylaxis (n = 200) during a 48-week follow-up period after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (aHCT). RESULTS: The incidence of csCMVi after aHCT was significantly reduced in the letermovir (34%, n = 68) compared to the control group (56%, n = 112; p < 0.001). Letermovir as CMV prophylaxis (OR 0.362) was found to be the only independent variable associated with prevention of csCMVi. Patients receiving letermovir showed a significantly better survival compared to the control group (HR = 1.735, 95% CI: 1.111 - 2.712; p = 0.014). Of all csCMVi, 46% (n = 31) occurred after discontinuation of letermovir prophylaxis. Severe neutropenia (<500 neutrophils / µL) on the day of the stem cell infusion was the only independent variable for an increased risk of csCMVi after the end of letermovir prophylaxis. CONCLUSIONS: Our study highlights the preventive effects of letermovir on csCMVi after aHCT. A substantial proportion of patients developed a csCMVi after discontinuation of letermovir. In particular, patients with severe neutropenia require specific attention after drug discontinuation.

Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI): A pan-European multi-center cost and resource utilization study, results from the Combatting Bacterial Resistance in Europe CDI (COMBACTE-CDI).

OBJECTIVES: Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is one of the leading nosocomial infections worldwide, resulting in a significantly increasing burden on the healthcare systems. However, Pan-European data about cost and resource utilization of CDI treatment do not exist. METHODS: A retrospective analysis within the Combatting Bacterial Resistance in Europe CDI project was conducted based on resource costs for inpatient treatment and productivity costs. Country-specific cost values were converted to EURO referred to 1 January, 2019 values. Differences in price levels for healthcare services among the participating countries were adjusted by using an international approach of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. As the study focused on patients with recurrent CDI, the observed study population was categorized into (a) patients with CDI but without CDI recurrence (case group), (b) patients with CDI recurrence (recurrence group), and (c) patients without CDI (control group). RESULTS: Overall, 430 hospitalized patients from 12 European countries were included into the analysis between July 2018 and November 2018. Distribution of mean hospital length of stay and mean overall costs per patient between the case group, recurrence group, and control group were as follows: 22 days (95% CI 17-27 days) vs. 55 days (95% CI 17-94 days) vs. 26 days (95% CI 22-31 days; p 0.008) and € 15 242 (95% CI 10 593-19 891) vs. € 52 024 (95% CI 715-103 334) vs. € 21 759 (95% CI 16 484-27 035; p 0.010), respectively. The CDI recurrence rate during the observational period was 18%. Change escalation in CDI medication (OR 3.735) and treatment in an intensive care unit (OR 5.454) were found to be the most important variables associated with increased overall costs of patients with CDI. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of patients with recurrent CDI results in a significant burden. Prevention of CDI recurrences should be in focus of daily patient care to identify the most cost-effective treatment strategy.

Impact of testing on Clostridioides difficile infection in hospitals across Europe: a mathematical model.

OBJECTIVES: The prevalence of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) has been shown to vary markedly between European countries, both in hospitals and in the community. Determining the true prevalence has proven challenging. Without systematic testing in hospitals, the unchecked transmission of CDI can lead to large outbreaks in more susceptible cohorts. We investigate the success of CDI surveillance and control measures across Europe, by examining the dynamics of disease spread from the community into a hospital setting. We focus on national differences, such as variability in testing and sampling, disease prevalence in communities and hospitals, and antimicrobial usage. METHODS: We developed a stochastic, compartmental, dynamic mathematical model parameterized using sampling and testing rate data from COMBACTE-CDI, a multicountry study in which all diarrhoeal stool samples (N = 3163) from European laboratories were tested for CDI, and data for antimicrobial usage and incidence of hospital cases sourced from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. RESULTS: The framework estimates the prevalence of CDI among hospital patients across European countries and explores how national differences impact the dynamics, transmission, and relative incidence of CDI within the hospital setting. The model illustrates the mechanisms influencing these national differences, namely, antimicrobial usage rates, national sampling and testing rates, and community prevalence of CDI. DISCUSSION: Differential costs for testing and practicalities of scaling up testing mean every country needs to consider balancing CDI testing costs against the costs of treatment and care of patients with CDI.

Outpatient care concept and potential inpatient cost savings associated with the administration of dalbavancin - A real-world data and retrospective cost analysis.

BACKGROUND: The treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) usually involves intravenous (i.v.) antibiotics requiring hospitalisation and increasing hospital costs. Since 2014, dalbavancin is approved for ABSSSIs treatment. However, evidence of its health economic impact on the German healthcare system is still limited. METHODS: Diagnosis-related groups (DRG) based cost analysis was used to evaluate real-world data (RWD) from a German tertiary care center. All patients treated with i.v. antibiotics in the Department of Dermatology and Venereology at the University Hospital of Cologne were included to detect potential cost savings from a payer perspective. Thus, for the inpatient care German diagnosis-related groups (G-DRG) tariffs, length of stay (LOS), main- and secondary DRG-diagnoses and for the outpatient setting 'Einheitlicher Bewertungsmaßstab' (EBM) codes were evaluated. RESULTS: This retrospective study identified 480 inpatient cases treated for ABSSSI between January 2016 until December 2020. Complete cost data were available for 433 cases and the detection of long-hospital-stay patients based on surcharges for exceeding the upper limit LOS led to 125 cases (29%) including 67 females (54%) and 58 males (46%) with an overall mean age of 63.6 years; all treated for International Classification of Diseases (ICD -10th revision) code A46 'erysipelas'. A sub-analysis focussed on DRG J64B with a total of 92 cases exceeding the upper limit LOS by a median of 3 days resulted in a median surcharge of €636 (mean value €749; SD €589; IQR €459-€785) per case. In comparison, we calculated outpatient treatment costs of approximately €55 per case. Thus, further treatment of these patients in an outpatient setting before exceeding the upper limit LOS might result in a cost-saving potential of approximately €581 per case. CONCLUSION: Dalbavancin appears a cost-efficient option to reduce inpatient treatment costs by transitioning to an outpatient setting of patients with ABSSSI potentially exceeding the upper limit LOS.

Staphylococcus aureus surgical site infection rates in 5 European countries.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the overall and procedure-specific incidence of surgical site infections (SSI) caused by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) as well as risk factors for such across all surgical disciplines in Europe. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort of patients with surgical procedures performed at 14 European centres in 2016, with a nested case-control analysis. S. aureus SSI were identified by a semi-automated crossmatching bacteriological and electronic health record data. Within each surgical procedure, cases and controls were matched using optimal propensity score matching. RESULTS: A total of 764 of 178 902 patients had S. aureus SSI (0.4%), with 86.0% of these caused by methicillin susceptible and 14% by resistant pathogens. Mean S. aureus SSI incidence was similar for all surgical specialties, while varying by procedure. CONCLUSIONS: This large procedure-independent study of S. aureus SSI proves a low overall infection rate of 0.4% in this cohort. It provides proof of principle for a semi-automated approach to utilize big data in epidemiological studies of healthcare-associated infections. Trials registration The study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov under NCT03353532 (11/2017).

Last Resort Antibiotics Costs and Reimbursement Analysis of Real-Life ICU Patients with Pneumonia Caused by Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria in Germany.

Multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (MDR-GNB) cause serious infections and aggravate disease progression. Last resort antibiotics are effective against MDR-GNB and are reimbursed by flat rates based on German diagnosis-related groups (G-DRG). From a hospital management perspective, this analysis compared hospital reimbursement for last resort antibiotics with their acquisition costs to outline potential funding gaps. Retrospective analyses based on medical charts and real-life reimbursement data included patients with pneumonia due to MDR-GNB treated in intensive care units (ICU) of a German tertiary care hospital (University Hospital Cologne) between January 2017 and December 2020. Drug-associated hospital reimbursement of G-DRG was compared with drug acquisition costs based on preliminarily approved last resort antibiotics (cefiderocol, ceftazidime-avibactam, ceftolozane-tazobactam, and imipenem-cilastatin-relebactam) according to label. Funding gaps were determined for the treatment of Enterobacterales, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, and mixed infections, respectively. Most of the 31 patients were infected with Enterobacterales (n = 15; 48.4%) and P. aeruginosa (n = 13; 41.9%). Drug-associated G-DRG reimbursement varied from 44.50 EUR (mixed infection of P. aeruginosa and Enterobacterales) to 2265.27 EUR (P. aeruginosa; mixed infection of P. aeruginosa and Enterobacterales). Drug acquisition costs ranged from 3284.40 EUR in ceftazidime-avibactam (minimum duration) to 15,827.01 EUR for imipenem-cilastatin-relebactam (maximum duration). Underfunding was found for all MDR-GNB, reaching from 1019.13 EUR (P. aeruginosa; mixed infection of P. aeruginosa and Enterobacterales) to 14,591.24 EUR (Enterobacterales). This analysis revealed the underfunding of last resort antibiotics in German hospital treatment. Insufficient reimbursement implies less research in this field, leading to a more frequent use of inappropriate antibiotics. The cycle closes as this contributes to the development of multi-drug resistant bacteria.

Needs for an Integration of Specific Data Sources and Items - First Insights of a National Survey Within the German Center for Infection Research.

State-subsidized programs develop medical data integration centers in Germany. To get infection disease (ID) researchers involved in the process of data sharing, common interests and minimum data requirements were prioritized. In 06/2019 we have initiated the German Infectious Disease Data Exchange (iDEx) project. We have developed and performed an online survey to determine prioritization of requests for data integration and exchange in ID research. The survey was designed with three sub-surveys, including a ranking of 15 data categories and 184 specific data items and a query of available 51 data collecting systems. A total of 84 researchers from 17 fields of ID research participated in the survey (predominant research fields: gastrointestinal infections n=11, healthcare-associated and antibiotic-resistant infections n=10, hepatitis n=10). 48% (40/84) of participants had experience as medical doctor. The three top ranked data categories were microbiology and parasitology, experimental data, and medication (53%, 52%, and 47% of maximal points, respectively). The most relevant data items for these categories were bloodstream infections, availability of biomaterial, and medication (88%, 87%, and 94% of maximal points, respectively). The ranking of requests of data integration and exchange is diverse and depends on the chosen measure. However, there is need to promote discipline-related digitalization and data exchange.

The economic burden of Clostridioides difficile infection in patients with hematological malignancies in the United States: A case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: The primary study aim was to describe all direct healthcare costs associated with Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), both in and out of the hospital, in patients with hematologic malignancies in the United States. DESIGN: A retrospective analysis was conducted utilizing data from US databases of Truven Health Analytics. PATIENTS: We analyzed health insurance claims between January 2014 and December 2017 of patients diagnosed with hematological cancer: acute myeloid leukemia (AML), acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Hodgkin's lymphoma, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). METHODS: Patients with CDI after cancer diagnosis (CDI+, cases) were matched with patients without CDI reported (CDI-, controls). Matched cases and controls were compared to identify the CDI-associated costs in the 90 days following the onset of CDI. RESULTS: We matched 622 CDI+ patients with 11,111 CDI- patients. NHL (41.7%) and AML (30.9%) were the predominant underlying diseases in the CDI+ groups. During study period, the average time in-hospital of CDI+ patients was 23.1 days longer than for CDI- patients (P < 2×10-16). Overall, CDI onset increased costs of care by an average of US$57,159 per patient (P = 6×10-12), mainly driven by hospital costs. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms the significant economic burden associated with CDI in the United States, especially in patients with hematological malignancies. These findings highlight the need for prevention of CDI in this specific patient population.