TY  - JOUR
T1  - HOspital costs and quality of life during 4 years after very preterm birth
AU  - Korvenranta E, Linna M, Rautava L, et al
Y1  - 2010/07/01
N1  - 10.1001/archpediatrics.2010.99
JO  - Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
SP  - 657
EP  - 663
VL  - 164
IS  - 7
N2  - Objective 
    To evaluate the effect of gestational age and prematurity-related morbidities on hospital costs and cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) during the first 4 years of life.Design 
    Population-based study using national register data and parental questionnaires.Setting 
    Finland.Participants 
    All 2064 very preterm children (gestational age <32 weeks or birth weight <1501 g) and all 200 609 full-term control individuals (mean [SD] gestational age, 37 [0] to 41 [6] weeks) born from January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2003.Main Exposure 
    Prematurity.Main Outcome Measures 
    Costs of hospital care and cost per QALY at 4 years of age according to gestational age and prematurity-related morbidities.Results 
    By 4 years of age, the cost per QALY for full-term controls (in 2008 currency) was €1181 (US$1736). In very preterm children, the average cost per QALY was €19 245 ($28 290), ranging from €11 824 to €54 324 ($17 381 to $79 856) and increasing with decreasing gestational age. The cost per QALY was €14 368 ($21 121) for those without any of the studied morbidities and €36 110 ($53 082) for those with 2 or more morbidities. The costs of the initial hospital stay comprised 79.5% of the total 4-year hospital costs in very preterm children.Conclusions 
    We conclude that the cost per QALY in this patient group is at an acceptable level by 4 years of age. Because the initial hospital care episode accounted for most of the costs, the cost per QALY will decrease with each additional follow-up year.
SN  - 1072-4710
M3  - doi: 10.1001/archpediatrics.2010.99
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpediatrics.2010.99
ER  -