title: Direct medical costs of syncope-related hospitalizations in the United States.
abstract: Little is known about the costs of syncope-related admissions in the United States. A nationally representative sample of hospital discharges and reported charges was analyzed, and costs were estimated using Medicare cost-to-charge ratios. A conservative estimate of total annual costs for syncope-related hospitalizations was $2.4 billion (95% confidence interval [CI] $2.2 to $2.6 billion), with a mean cost of $5,400 (95% CI $5,100 to $5,600) per hospitalization. Efforts to safely decrease syncope-related admissions may result in substantial costs savings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. bsun@post.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Benjamin C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Emond
authors.forename: Carlos A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Camargo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004180:Direct Service Costs; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000191:economics; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D006278:Medicare / Q000191:economics; D008875:Middle Aged; D013575:Syncope / Q000191:economics*; D014481:United States