Economic report on the cost of dengue fever in Vietnam: case of a provincial hospital

Luyen Dinh Pham, Nhat Huy Tran Phung, Nguyen Tu Dang Le, Trung Quang Vo Department of Pharmacy Administration, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Background: Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral illness with the world’s fastest rate of infection. In 2014, Vietnam had recorded 43,000 cases in 53 provinces, with 28 deaths. Materials and methods: A 6-month cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2015 to March 2016 at Cu Chi General Hospital. Cost of illness in this study was estimated under the incidence-based approach from the societal perspective. Results: The average cost per case was US$139.3±$61.7. The average cost per child was higher than per adult, but not significant ($151.0±$63.5 and $132.7±$59.9, respectively; P=0.068). Meanwhile, 50.2% of the total cost was contributed by the cost of hospital bed. According to the sensitivity analysis, if both the costs of the hospital bed and ultrasound were reduced by 10%, the total treatment cost of dengue fever would fall by 5% and 1.6%, respectively. Conclusion: This study is expected to be the basis for investment-plan formulation and fund allocation for the treatment and prevention of dengue. In an attempt to examine the entire socioeconomic encumbrance caused by the dengue virus, a larger scale study targeting both dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever needs to be conducted in several hospitals. Keywords: cost of illness, dengue, dengue fever, hospital, Vietnam&nbsp