Cost effectiveness of neonatal inhalation therapy

Special Care Units are becoming much in demand. However not every hospital can afford them. In this article financial aspects of a specific service for special care, that is inhalation therapy for sick neonates are analyzed. The study is carried out at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the American University of Beirut--Medical Center. Out of 1000 consecutive deliveries, 32 neonates (3.2%) required some form of inhalation therapy. Expenses and entries are computed. Inference is made that this number (1000 deliveries per year) may be sufficient to generate enough entries to cover for expenses to hire specialized personnel.