ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Health Economics
Measuring the Burden of Nosocomial Infection in Cancer Patients: An analysis based on propensity score matching in China
Provisionally accepted
- 1Infection Management Office,Sichuan Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sichuan Cancer Hospital and Institute, Chengdu, China
- 2Department of Respiratory Medicine, Second Affiliated Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
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Abstract Introduction Cancer patients are more susceptible to nosocomial infections due to the suppression of their immune system as a result of factors such as the disease itself and treatment modalities. Nosocomial infections have become an important factor affecting the therapeutic effect, prognosis and quality of life of cancer patients, increasing their suffering and economic burden. This study aims to investigate the impact of hospital-acquired infections on the length of stay and hospitalization costs for cancer patients, providing economic health support for the prevention and control of such infections. Materials and methods We extracted data on the basic information, infection status, hospitalization costs, and length of stay of inpatients from a large specialized cancer hospital's infection information system and inpatient information, from July 2021 to June 2022. The influencing factors on hospitalization costs and length of stay for cancer patients were determined through literature review. After matching using the propensity score method, we analyzed the impact of hospital-acquired infections on the length of stay and hospitalization costs. Results During the study period, a total of 407 hospital-acquired infections were reported, with an incidence rate of 0.58%. After propensity score matching and balance testing, compared with the control group, hospital-acquired infections prolonged the length of stay by 7 days (P<0.01) and increased hospitalization costs by $3578.95 (P<0.01). Conclusions and relevance Hospital-acquired infections significantly increase the length of stay and hospitalization costs for cancer patients, adding to the economic burden of the disease. The use of a literature review to determine covariates makes this conclusion more scientific.
Keywords: Hospital-acquired infections, Propensity score matching, Length of hospital stay, Hospitalization cost, Infection Control
Received: 16 Jun 2025; Accepted: 10 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Tian, Ding, Tang, Liu, Wang and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Qingqing Tian, 303532426@qq.com
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