Impact of atrial fibrillation on inpatient cost for ischemic stroke in the USA

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation is a significant risk factor for ischemic stroke and increases cost of treatment. AIMS: To estimate the incremental inpatient cost and length of stay due to atrial fibrillation among adults hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of ischemic stroke after controlling for sociodemographic, clinical, and hospital characteristics in a nationally representative discharge record of US population. METHODS: Hospital discharge records with a primary diagnosis of ischemic stroke were identified from the National Inpatient Sample data for the years 2010-2013. Generalized linear model with log link and least-square means were utilized to estimate the incremental inpatient cost and length of stay in ischemic stroke due to atrial fibrillation after controlling for sociodemographic, clinical, and hospital characteristics. RESULTS: Among 434,544 hospital discharge records with a primary diagnosis of ischemic stroke, 90,190 (20.76%) discharge records had a secondary diagnosis of atrial fibrillation. The average inpatient cost for all discharge records with a primary diagnosis of ischemic stroke was (mean = $13,072, median = $9270.87) significantly (p < 0.0001) higher compared to all discharge records without ischemic stroke (mean = $12,543.07, median = $7517.13). The mean length of stay for all records was 4.55 days (95% CI = 4.53-4.56). Among those identified with ischemic stroke, adjusted mean inpatient cost was higher by $2829 (95% CI = $2708-$2949) and mean length of stay was greater by 0.85 (95% CI = 0.81-0.89) for those with atrial fibrillation compared to those without. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of atrial fibrillation was associated with increased inpatient cost and length of stay among patients diagnosed with ischemic stroke. Increased inpatient cost and length of stay call for a more comprehensive patient care approach including targeted interventions among adults diagnosed with ischemic stroke and atrial fibrillation, which could potentially reduce the overall cost in this population.