Hospitalization costs for patients with acute ischemic stroke treated with endovascular embolectomy in the United States.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE It is important to know the costs of hospitalization for patients undergoing endovascular embolectomy so that comparisons can be made with payments to hospitals. METHODS Using the National Inpatient Sample, we evaluated the costs of hospitalization for patients treated with endovascular embolectomy in the United States from 2006 to 2008. The primary end point examined in this study was total hospital costs, and these were correlated with clinical outcome. RESULTS A total of 3864 patients received endovascular embolectomy. A total of 1649 patients were <65 years old and 2205 patients were ≥65 years old. Median hospital costs in 2008 dollars were $36,999 (interquartile range, $26,662-$56,405) for patients with good outcome, $50,628 (interquartile range, $33,135-$76,063) for patients with severe disability, and $35,109 (interquartile range, $25,053-$62,621) for patients with mortality. CONCLUSIONS Hospitalization costs for patients treated with endovascular embolectomy are rather high, probably due to the serious nature of their illness. Medicare payments have not been adequate reimbursement for these hospitalizations.