Overall and unit costs of the five most common hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) in the US

Using estimates from a recent study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, this graphic shows the overall cost and per-case cost for each of the five major hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) in the US. The five major HAIs identified by the study are: central line-associated bloodstream infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia, surgical site infections, C. difficile infections, and catheter-associated urinary tract infections. The costs, which are measured in 2012 US dollars, show that central line-associated bloodstream infections, with a per-case cost of $45,814, were the most costly HAIs on a per-case basis. Surgical site infections, with an overall cost of $3.3 billion, had the highest share of the total annual costs, estimated to be $9.8 billion, among the five major HAIs.