Background
Continuous EEG (cEEG) is increasingly used in critically-ill patients, but it is more resource-intensive than compared to routine EEG (rEEG). This study analyzes hospital-related reimbursement in participants of a Swiss multicenter randomized controlled trial that assessed the relationship of cEEG versus repeated rEEG with outcome.
Methods
We used data of the CERTA study (NCT03129438), including demographics, clinical variables, and reimbursement for acute hospitalizations after the Swiss Diagnosis Related Groups billing system. In addition to a comparison across EEG intervention groups, we explored correlations with several clinical variables, using uni- and multivariate analyses.
Results
In total, 366 adults were analyzed (184 cEEG, 182 rEEG); 123 (33.6%) were women, mean age was 63.8 years ( 15). Median hospitalization reimbursement were comparable across EEG groups; cEEG: 89’631 CHF (IQR: 45’635 – 159’994); rEEG: 73’017 CHF (IQR: 43’031 – 158’565); p = 0.432. While in univariate analyses increasing reimbursement correlated with longer acute hospitalizations, younger age, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, changes in clinical management within 60 hours, no seizures or status epilepticus detection, and survival at 6 months, only acute hospitalization duration was independently related to reimbursement (p<0.001).
Conclusion
As opposed to the USA, reimbursement is comparable across critically-ill adults receiving cEEG or rEEG in a Swiss DRG billing system. Rather, reimbuersement correlate with duration of hospitalization.