Hospital Costs Associated With Agitation in the Acute Care Setting

Objective: The study determined hospital costs associated with a diagnosis of agitation among patients at 14 general hospitals in Spain. Methods: Data from discharge records of adult patients (2008-2012) with a diagnosis of agitation (ICD-9-CM code 293.0) were analyzed. Incremental hospital costs for agitated patients and a control group of patients without agitation were quantified, and the adjusted cost and incremental cost for both groups were compared by use of a recycled-predictions approach. Results: The analysis included 355,496 hospital discharges, 5,334 of which were of patients with a diagnosis of agitation. Among patients with a diagnosis of agitation, hospital stays were significantly longer (12 days versus nine days). A significant difference in mean costs of (sic)472 (95% confidence interval [CI] = (sic)351-(sic)593) was noted between patients with agitation and those in the control group. A recycled-predictions approach showed a difference of (sic)1,593 (CI = (sic)1,556-(sic)1,631). Conclusions: Findings indicate that agitation increased the use of hospital resources by at least 8%.