Associated factors with costs of hospital admissions for infectious diseases in the elderly in a hospital in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte

This study examined the factors associated with direct cost of hospitalizations for infectious diseases in the elderly. We conducted a case study of the costs of hospitalization in elderly patients with 60 or more years admitted in a reference hospital in the city of Natal, state of Rio Grande do Norte, during the period from January 2005 to December 2009. The Multiple Linear Regression model (log-linear) was applied to analyze the factors associated with hospitalization costs. The results of the regression model showed that each additional day of hospitalization determined a 3% increase in average spending and admissions of elderly who died produced a 71.6% increase in costs relative to admissions of patients discharged.