Costs of elective vs emergency cholecystectomy in diabetic patients

Introduction: Hospitalization costs of diabetic patients are estimated to be higher than non-diabetic. Literature on the topic is however limited. The aim of this study was to compare the costs of elective and emergency cholecystectomy of diabetic and non-diabetic patients. Material and methods: A retrospective analysis involved diabetic versus non-diabetic age- and sex-matched patients who underwent emergency and elective cholecystectomy at a single center in Poland between 2016-2019. Results: The total costs of an elective cholecystectomy were 739.31 ± 423.07 USD for diabetic patients and 797.14 ± 772.24 USD for non-diabetic patients (p = 0.51). Whereas emergency cholecystectomy total costs were 3950.72 ± 2856.83 USD (diabetic patients) and 2464.31 ± 1718.21 USD (non-diabetic patients) (p = 0.04). The difference in total costs between elective cholecystectomy vs emergency cholecystectomy in both groups (diabetic vs non-diabetic patients) was statistically significant (p < 0.01 vs p < 0.05 respectively). Conclusions: In this study we demonstrated that emergency cholecystectomy is associated with a significant increase in hospitalization costs, particularly in diabetic patients. This suggests that early qualification of diabetic patients for an elective cholecystectomy could be beneficial for both diabetic patients and public health insurers.