The direct cost components and direct out-of-pocket expenditures for chronic pulmonary aspergillosis are unknown. Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis is a recently emerging disease of significant concern. Here, we identify the direct cost components and estimate the direct out-of-pocket expenditure on patients to highlight the financial burden of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis. A retrospective study design was carried out on our previously published study carried out at Gulab Devi Chest Hospital, a tertiary care hospital situated in Lahore, Pakistan. The direct costing components for the patients identified were (1) length of hospital stay cost (2) Initial laboratory and diagnostic testing cost (3) Follow-up laboratory and diagnostic cost (4) Medication cost. The range of direct out-of-pocket expenditure of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis per patient annually was between USD 83.53 and USD 58,550. The major component of direct out-of-pocket expenditure was medication cost i.e., 53.75 – 98.97% followed by the initial laboratory and diagnostic cost i.e., 0.17 – 34.75%. Cost-effective treatment strategies are required to optimize the cost of illness of diseases like CPA.
Key words: CPA, out-of-pocket expenditures, direct cost component, length of stay cost, medication cost, laboratory, and diagnostic cost
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