title: [Resources use and direct medical costs in a pediatric population with chronic diseases].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the distribution and analyze the use of resources and direct medical costs in children and adolescents diagnosed with a chronic disease and compare them with healthy children of the same age from a health insurer perspective.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed the resources used and direct medical costs generated during 2008 in 21-year-old patients or younger affiliated to a health plan of community hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We compared the outcomes of patients with at least one chronic disease as defined by Stein with healthy patients from a health insurer perspective with a one year time horizon. The costs were expressed in U.S. dollars for 2008.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We identified 1885 children and adolescents with chronic illness, accounting for 6.7% of the total pediatric population studied. This group had a greater number and length of hospitalization, greater use of medications, practices and medical consultations than the healthy pediatric population. The mean total annual costs were US$ 501 (95% CI: 419-583) and US$ 212 (95% CI: 188-236), respectively (p < 0.001). Overweight, obesity and asthma, even with relatively low or moderate costs per patient, generated almost 39% of the total costs of chronic diseases due to its high prevalence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The pediatric population with diagnosis of at least one chronic disease had significantly greater utilization of medical services and increased costs in all areas studied. It is also important to recognize that diseases of low or moderate cost per patient, but highly prevalent, generate the largest share of expenditure of chronic diseases in the population.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Pediatría y Área de Programas Médicos del Plan de Salud, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires. francisco.ferraris@hospitalitaliano.org.ar
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ferraris
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beratarrechea
authors.forename: Julián
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Llera
authors.forename: Marcelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marchetti
authors.forename: Gastón
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Perman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000191:economics* / Q000628:therapy; D004180:Direct Service Costs; D005260:Female; D006295:Health Resources / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies