Estimated Costs of False Laboratory Diagnoses of Tuberculosis in Three Patients

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Emerg Infect Dis
• Personal Author:
  Northrup, Jill M. ; Miller, Ann C. ; Nardell, Edward ; Sharnprapai, Sharon ; Etkind, Sue ; Driscoll, Jeffrey ; McGarry, Michael ; Taber, Harry W. ; Elvin, Paul ; Qualls, Noreen L. ; Braden, Christopher R.
• Description:
  We estimated direct medical and nonmedical costs associated with a false diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) caused by laboratory cross-contamination of Mycobacterium tuberculosis cultures in Massachusetts in 1998 and 1999. For three patients who received misdiagnoses of active TB disease on the basis of laboratory cross-contamination, the costs totaled U.S. dollars 32618. Of the total, 97% was attributed to the public sector (local and state health departments, public health hospital and laboratory, and county and state correctional facilities); 3% to the private sector (physicians, hospitals, and laboratories); and <1% to the patient. Hospitalizations and inpatient tests, procedures, and TB medications accounted for 69% of costs, and outpatient TB medications accounted for 18%. The average cost per patient was dollars 10873 (range, dollars 1033-dollars 21306). Reducing laboratory cross-contamination and quickly identifying patients with cross-contaminated cultures can prevent unnecessary and potentially dangerous treatment regimens and anguish for the patient and financial burden to the health-care system.
• Subjects:
  Adult Antitubercular Agents Bacterial Typing Techniques Contact Tracing Diagnostic Errors Equipment Contamination False Positive Reactions Female Health Care Costs Humans Laboratories Male Middle Aged Specimen Handling Tuberculosis

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• Source:
  Emerg Infect Dis. 8(11):1264-1270.
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  8
• Issue:
  11
• Collection(s):
  Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:a1eaa6da2cf78e4b116bbf2f47612bd0f9207d3f24e5046207f18d80e1c740e2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/14064/cdc_14064_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 337.60 KB ]