Abstract
Lung cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. In this paper, the hospital costs incurred by 724 lung cancer patients diagnosed in 2001 were determined by review of case notes. These represented all patients diagnosed with lung cancer in Northern Ireland on whom data existed in that year. Total hospital costs in the 12 months from presentation for the 724 patients were £3.99 million. Average patient costs were £5,956 for patients diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer and £5,876 for those with small cell lung cancer. The main component of cost was inpatient stay, representing between 62 and 84% of costs depending on cell type. Multivariate analyses revealed significant differences in cost related to staging, co-morbidities, age, and deprivation. Total annual hospital costs were 13 times as high as the estimated enforcement cost of the smoke-free legislation in Northern Ireland.
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Notes
The NICR is a population-based registry providing comprehensive cancer information for the entire population of Northern Ireland.
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Acknowledgements
The Northern Ireland Cancer Registry (NICR) is funded by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety Northern Ireland (DHSSPSNI). Deirdre Fitzpatrick—Data management, Northern Ireland Cancer Registry Dr. Stranex—Belvior Park Hospital Belfast. Hospital Medical Records staff throughout Northern Ireland.
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Fleming, I., Monaghan, P., Gavin, A. et al. Factors influencing hospital costs of lung cancer patients in Northern Ireland. Eur J Health Econ 9, 79–86 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10198-007-0047-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10198-007-0047-4