Low skeletal muscle mass is associated with increased hospital costs in patients with cirrhosis listed for liver transplantation-a retrospective study.

Low skeletal muscle mass (sarcopenia) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in liver transplant candidates. We investigated the association between sarcopenia and hospital costs in patients listed for liver transplantation. Consecutive patients with cirrhosis listed for liver transplantation between 2007 and 2014 in a Eurotransplant centre were identified. The skeletal muscle index (SMI, cm2 /m2 ) was measured on CT performed within 90 days from waiting list placement. The lowest sex-spe cific quartile represented patients with sarcopenia. In total, 224 patients were included. Median time on the waiting list was 170 (IQR 47-306) days, and median MELD score was 16 (IQR 11-20). The median total hospital costs in patients with sarcopenia were €11 294 (IQR 3570-46 469) compared with €6878 (IQR 1305-20 683) in patients without sarcopenia (P = 0.008). In multivariable regression analysis, an incremental increase in SMI was significantly associated with a decrease in total costs (€455 per incremental SMI, 95% CI 11-900, P = 0.045), independent of the total time on the waiting list. In conclusion, sarcopenia is independently associated with increased health-related costs for patients on the waiting list for liver transplantation. Optimizing skeletal muscle mass may therefore lead to a decrease in hospital expenditure, in addition to greater health benefit for the transplant candidate.

Cost-effectiveness study of early versus late parenteral nutrition in critically ill children (PEPaNIC): preplanned secondary analysis of a multicentre randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The multicentre randomised controlled PEPaNIC trial showed that withholding parenteral nutrition (PN) during the first week of critical illness in children was clinically superior to providing early PN. This study describes the cost-effectiveness of this new nutritional strategy. METHODS: Direct medical costs were calculated with use of a micro-costing approach. We compared the costs of late versus early initiation of PN (n = 673 versus n = 670 patients) in the Belgian and Dutch study populations from a hospital perspective, using Student's t test with bootstrapping. Main cost drivers were identified and the impact of new infections on the total costs was assessed. RESULTS: Mean direct medical costs for patients receiving late PN (€26.680, IQR €10.090-28.830 per patient) were 21% lower (-€7.180, p = 0.007) than for patients receiving early PN (€33.860, IQR €11.080-34.720). Since late PN was more effective and less costly, this strategy was superior to early PN. The lower costs for PN only contributed 2.1% to the total cost reduction. The main cost driver was intensive care hospitalisation costs (-€4.120, p = 0.003). The patients who acquired a new infection (14%) were responsible for 41% of the total costs. Sensitivity analyses confirmed consistency across both healthcare systems. CONCLUSIONS: Late initiation of PN decreased the direct medical costs for hospitalisation in critically ill children, beyond the expected lower costs for withholding PN. Avoiding new infections by late initiation of PN yielded a large cost reduction. Hence, late initiation of PN was superior to early initiation of PN largely via its effect on new infections. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01536275 . Registered on 16 February 2012.

Low skeletal muscle mass is associated with increased hospital expenditure in patients undergoing cancer surgery of the alimentary tract.

BACKGROUND: Low skeletal muscle mass is associated with poor postoperative outcomes in cancer patients. Furthermore, it is associated with increased healthcare costs in the United States. We investigated its effect on hospital expenditure in a Western-European healthcare system, with universal access. METHODS: Skeletal muscle mass (assessed on CT) and costs were obtained for patients who underwent curative-intent abdominal cancer surgery. Low skeletal muscle mass was defined based on pre-established cut-offs. The relationship between low skeletal muscle mass and hospital costs was assessed using linear regression analysis and Mann-Whitney U-tests. RESULTS: 452 patients were included (median age 65, 61.5% males). Patients underwent surgery for colorectal cancer (38.9%), colorectal liver metastases (27.4%), primary liver tumours (23.2%), and pancreatic/periampullary cancer (10.4%). In total, 45.6% had sarcopenia. Median costs were €2,183 higher in patients with low compared with patients with high skeletal muscle mass (€17,144 versus €14,961; P<0.001). Hospital costs incrementally increased with lower sex-specific skeletal muscle mass quartiles (P = 0.029). After adjustment for confounders, low skeletal muscle mass was associated with a cost increase of €4,061 (P = 0.015). CONCLUSION: Low skeletal muscle mass was independently associated with increased hospital costs of about €4,000 per patient. Strategies to reduce skeletal muscle wasting could reduce hospital costs in an era of incremental healthcare costs and an increasingly ageing population.