Economic report on the cost of dengue fever in Vietnam: case of a provincial hospital

Abstract

BackgroundDengue is a mosquito-borne viral illness with the world’s fastest rate of infection. In 2014, Vietnam had recorded 43,000 cases in 53 provinces, with 28 deaths.Materials and methodsA 6-month cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2015 to March 2016 at Cu Chi General Hospital. Cost of illness in this study was estimated under the incidence-based approach from the societal perspective.ResultsThe average cost per case was US$139.3±$61.7. The average cost per child was higher than per adult, but not significant ($151.0±$63.5 and $132.7±$59.9, respectively; P=0.068). Meanwhile, 50.2% of the total cost was contributed by the cost of hospital bed. According to the sensitivity analysis, if both the costs of the hospital bed and ultrasound were reduced by 10%, the total treatment cost of dengue fever would fall by 5% and 1.6%, respectively.ConclusionThis study is expected to be the basis for investment-plan formulation and fund allocation for the treatment and prevention of dengue. In an attempt to examine the entire socioeconomic encumbrance caused by the dengue virus, a larger scale study targeting both dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever needs to be conducted in several hospitals.

Cost-of-Illness and the Health-Related Quality of Life of Patients in the Dengue Fever Outbreak in Hanoi in 2017

“…Compared to previous studies, participants in this study were older (33.9 ± 14.3) (the reported average age of patients in studies conducted nationally in 2011 and at Cu Chi General Hospital in 2016, was 24 ± 7.2 years and 23.2 ± 13.3 years, respectively) [ 14 , 15 ]. This indicated that working adults are still most vulnerable to the virus, albeit more so in the higher age group.…”

“…The epidemic was mostly concentrated in urban areas, such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city, resulting in an overload on the hospital system in Vietnam, particularly in central hospitals with infectious departments. Albeit a prevalent disease, only limited studies have explored the effects of DF on the quality of life of patients, as well as the financial burden that is suffered by those who are infected in Vietnam [ 14 , 15 , 16 ]. This data is critical in supporting the decision-making processes of clinical practitioners and will partly contribute to further economic evaluations for DF prevention, cure, and control interventions.…”

The Estimates of the Health and Economic Burden of Dengue in Vietnam

“…We identified seven studies that reported costs related to hospitalized dengue cases in Vietnam. The reported average cost per case varied between US$115 and US$278 in 2016 prices ( Table 1 ) 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 . The average total cost per case was relatively consistent across the different studies, with the exception of the estimate from Tam et al .…”

“… 71.82 26.17 19.62 117.61 Pham et al . [28] Patients from one hospital in a suburban area of Ho Chi Minh City were interviewed. Direct medical costs were also collected from the hospital’s electronic database.…”

“… [28] found that over 80% of their sample sought care at private clinics or pharmacies before they were hospitalized, incurring an average cost of US$32.05 in 2016 prices. In addition, the authors observed that many of the patients continued to incur nonmedical and indirect costs after they were discharged from the hospital [28] . This indicates that the time-frame over which the costs are collected could account for a notable degree of the variation in the costs of dengue illness reported by different studies.…”