[Cost of heart failure in the Unified Health System].
OBJECTIVE
To describe the direct and indirect costs of ambulatory and in-patient treatments of heart failure during 2002, in the University Hospital Antonio Pedro, Niterói.


METHODS
A cross-sectional and retrospective study on utilization and valuation of resources in 70 patients, consecutively selected, under ambulatory and in-patient treatment. Questionnaires and records of the patients were used for data collection. The resources used were evaluated in Brazilian Reais (2002). The study's point of view was the perspective from society. The data were analyzed in the EPINFO program, 2002 version.


RESULTS
The studied population consisted of 70 patients (39 women), with average age of 60.3 years old. 465 in-patients days (28.5% of the patients) took place. There were 386 ward hospitalizations and 79 in ICUs. The cost with ambulatory appointments was R$ 14.40. The expenses with ambulatory medications amounted R$ 83,430.00 (R$ 1,191.86/patient/year). The cost per hospitalized patient was R$ 4,033.62. The cost with complementary examinations totaled R$ 39,009.50 (R$ 557.28/patient/year). Twenty patients retired due to heart failure, which represented a loss in productivity of R$ 182,000.00. The total cost was R$ 444,445.20. Hospitalization represented 39.7% and the use of medications 38.3% from direct costs.


CONCLUSIONS
The hospitalization cost and the expenses with medications represented the main components of direct costs. Indirect costs represented economic impacts similar to direct costs.
Araujo
Denizar Vianna
DV
Escola Paulista de Medicina, São Paulo, SP. denizar@cardiol.br
Tavares
Leandro Reis
LR
Veríssimo
Renata
R
Ferraz
Marcos Bosi
MB
Mesquita
Evandro Tinoco
ET
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil; D002303:Cardiac Output, Low / Q000191:economics* / Q000628:therapy; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016527:Drug Costs; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies