ABSTRACT
The component costs of nephrotoxicity were calculated by hospital accounting methods; room and board costs were enumerated with per diem rates. Nephrotoxicity is a well-recognized adverse event associated with the use of aminoglycoside antibiotics. New antibiotics without a known risk of nephrotoxity have been developed as alternatives to aminoglycosides. This chapter provides a case study which compares patients who had nephrotoxicity with patients who did not from a cohort of patients treated with aminoglycoside antibiotics. In this study, physician consultations represent a cost to the payer rather than the hospital, and are reported as an economic effect of aminoglycoside-associated nephrotoxicity. Univariate analyses were done to explore the relationship between each variable and the presence or absence of nephrotoxicity. Regressions were done using nephrotoxicity both as a continuous variable and as a discrete, dummy variable. The potential but undocumented cost of nephrotoxicity related to aminoglycosides is important in assessing the value of an alternative drug.
