Childhood cancer hospital resource utilization and costs in Egypt, 2013-2017; patterns, trends, and associated factors for 8886 patients from Children's Cancer Hospital, Egypt
Soliman R., Elhaddad A., Oke J., Eweida W., Tarek N., Hamza M., Yang Y., Abouelnaga S., Heneghan C.
Introduction: There is a lack ofevidence about resource use and costs of childhood cancer care in Egypt. Knowledge about resource use/costs can help in better resource planning to improve care and outcomes efficiently. In this study, we estimated patterns and trends of hospital resource use and costs for children with cancer (n = 8886, aged 0-18 years) treated at Children's Cancer Hospital, Egypt (CCHE), between 2013 and 2017, by ICCC-3 groups, at one and three years post-diagnosis. Methods: We estimated costs from the healthcare provider perspective, expressed in USD 2019. We also studied resource use/cost trends, and factors associated with inpatient days and costs. Results: For all cancers combined, median costs were $14,774 (IQR: $6,559-$23,738) at one year and $19,799 (IQR: $8,921-$34,204) at three years post-diagnosis. Median inpatient days were 38 days (IQR: 17-60) at one year, and 43 days (IQR: 20-74) at three years post-diagnosis. Patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and neuroblastoma imposed the greatest financial burden on CCHE, representing 53.1% of total costs. AML patients had the highest costs/resource use of all childhood cancers. Cost trends decreased by 2.9% (P