Analysis of hospital-acquired infection and direct economic burden after mechanical thrombectomy for patients with acute ischemic stroke

OBJECTIVE To assess hospital-acquired infections and their direct economic burden after mechanical thrombectomy for patients with acute ischemic stroke in order to guide clinical medication.

METHODS A hospital-acquired infection survey was conducted on 236 patients with acute ischemic stroke underwent mechanical thrombectomy admitted to the department of neurology from Jan. 1, 2021 to Dec. 31, 2022, the patients′ basic information, clinical treatments, hospital-acquired infection-related risk factors, costs of hospitalization, and other relevant variables were collected and analyzed. Based on whether or not occurring hospital-acquired infection, the patients were divided into 21 cases of the hospital-acquired infection group and 215 cases of the non-hospital-acquired infection group, and the hospitalization days and expenses of the two groups were compared.

RESULTS A total of 236 acute ischemic stroke patients who underwent mechanical thrombectomy were included, and 21 cases acquired infections, with an incidence rate of 8.90%, and lower respiratory tract infections predominated. The median length of hospitalization was 17 days for patients in the hospital-acquired infection group and 11 days in the non-hospital-acquired infection group. There was 6 days for prolonged hospitalization due to hospital-acquired infections, and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.035). The median total hospitalization cost for patients in the hospital-acquired infection group was 119 020.47 yuan, and in the non-hospital-acquired infection group was 93 553.98 yuan. The direct economic burden for patients due to hospital-acquired infections was 25 466.49 yuan with a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P=0.035).

CONCLUSIONS Hospital-acquired infections in acute ischemic stroke patients undergoing mechanical thrombectomy not only lead to prolonged hospitalization time and reduc departmental bed turnover rates, but also resulted in an increased hospitalization costs, which will bring a heavy economic burden to the patients, increase the cost of medical care and bring an economic burden to the hospitals.