description
Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) is defined as pneumonia that occurs 48 h after admission or later. It is a serious infection with considerable mortality and significant costs. Methods. Available epidemiological data of HAP in Slovenia and worldwide and the data on antimicrobial drugs for the treatment of HAP were collected. Costs of one year optimal treatment of all patients with HAP in Slovenia were estimated. Results. There are 46 hospital infections per 1000 hospitalizations in Slovenia, 10,2 HAP per 1000 hospitalizations and 144,6 HAP per 1000 hospitalizations in intensive care units (ICUs). The probable annual rate of HAP in Slovenia is 2245 patients, estimated on the basis of epidemiological data for Germany and USA. Costs for antimicrobial agents for all HAP patients amount to 162,177,730.00 SIT. Total costs of optimal treatment of the 2245 HAP patients in Slovenia would amount to 3,648,845,140.40 SIT, 75,42 % for hospitalization, 19,39 % for work days lost, 4,44 % for antimicrobial drugs, 0,41 % for physician and 0,34 % for travel expenses. That would account 0,064 % of the gross national product and 0,661 % of total health care expenditures, assured from ZZZS. Conclusions. HAPis a rare, severe disease, which has high mortality and represents a great burden for the community.