Key result
Cardiomyopathy hospitalizations in China average ~$6294, driven by advanced disease and combination therapies.
Why the study?
Characterising treatment patterns and costs is essential for understanding healthcare utilisation and informing cost management in hospitalised patients with cardiomyopathy.
What are the clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, and direct medical costs among hospitalized patients with cardiomyopathy in China?
Cross-Sectional (n=15,764)
Yes
What are the clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, and direct medical costs among hospitalized patients with cardiomyopathy in China?
Hospitalization for cardiomyopathy in China incurs substantial direct medical costs, which are significantly driven by disease severity, treatment complexity, and hospital level.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
High costs associated with cardiomyopathy hospitalizations may guide resource allocation in China; leaves open prospective studies on modifiable drivers.
Background: Characterising treatment patterns and costs is essential for understanding healthcare utilisation and informing cost management. We aimed to assess these aspects among hospitalised patients with cardiomyopathy. Methods: We conducted a multicentre study at 11 tertiary hospitals across China, systematically extracting electronic medical records from 2017 to 2022. Factors associated with medical costs were analysed using generalised linear regression with cluster-robust standard errors. Findings: Among 15,764 medical records of adult inpatients with cardiomyopathy, medical therapy alone (81.5%; 12,853/15,764) was the most common treatment pattern. The mean direct medical cost per hospitalisation for all admissions was $6294 ($11,564) and the median cost was $2152 (IQR $1248, $4931), with variation across cardiomyopathy subtypes. Admissions to the national centre (Exp(β) 1.529 [95% confidence interval 1.242-1.882]), New York Heart Association functional class III/IV (Exp(β) 1.371 [1.169-1.608]), and combination therapies (vs. medical therapy alone: medical and interventional Exp(β) 6.685 [5.098-8.766]; medical and surgical 7.537 [6.213-9.143]; all three 10.718 [7.579-15.157]) were associated with higher costs, whereas insurance coverage (Exp(β) 0.773 [0.642-0.932]) was associated with lower costs. Interpretation: This study provides evidence on inpatient medical costs and their associated factors, serving as a reference for understanding the real-world cost profile and informing cost management of cardiomyopathy in tertiary healthcare settings. Funding: The Noncommunicable Chronic Diseases-National Science and Technology Major Project, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CAMS) Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences, the National High Level Hospital Clinical Research Funding, and the Science and Technology Department of Heilongjiang Province.
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Wang et al. (2026) conducted a cross-sectional in Cardiomyopathy (n=15,764). Cardiomyopathy was evaluated on Direct medical costs per hospitalisation. Among hospitalised adults with cardiomyopathy in China, the mean direct medical cost per hospitalisation was $6294, with higher costs driven by advanced disease, combination therapies, and national centre admission.
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