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Methamphetamine use is associated with increased hospital resource consumption among minimally injured trauma

Jason A London1, Garth H Utter, Felix Battistella

  • 1Department of Surgery, Division of Trauma and Emergency Surgery, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, California 95817, USA. jason.london@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu

The Journal of Trauma
|February 11, 2009
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

Minimally injured patients using methamphetamines (MA) incur higher hospital costs and resource use than non-users. This indicates MA

Area of Science:

  • Trauma Surgery
  • Health Economics
  • Addiction Medicine

Background:

  • Methamphetamine (MA) use can complicate medical management and increase healthcare costs.
  • The impact of MA on resource utilization in trauma patients, particularly those with minimal injury, requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test the hypothesis that minimally injured (MI) trauma patients who test positive for MA consume more hospital resources than those who test negative.
  • To quantify the economic impact of MA use on hospital resource utilization in trauma patients.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of adult trauma registry data linked to hospital cost data.
  • Classification of patients into minimally injured (MI, Injury Severity Score <9) and severely injured (Injury Severity Score >9) groups.
  • Comparison of total direct inpatient costs and cost center utilization between MA-positive and MA-negative patients.

Main Results:

  • MI patients testing positive for MA incurred higher total direct costs ($2,998) compared to MA-negative MI patients ($2,667).
  • MA-positive MI patients demonstrated increased resource consumption across all 10 hospital cost centers.
  • Increased costs were marginally associated with minimally injured alcohol users but not with cocaine users or severely injured MA users.

Conclusions:

  • Minimally injured trauma patients who use methamphetamines (MA) consume significantly more hospital resources than their non-using counterparts.
  • The increased resource utilization associated with MA use extends beyond initial diagnostics to the entire hospital stay.
  • Healthcare facilities with a high prevalence of MA-using trauma patients may face financial challenges if reimbursement models do not account for this increased resource demand.

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