CT guided biopsy for osteodiscitis reduces cost of hospitalization in the landscape of increasing intravenous drug use: A single center retrospective analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Osteodiscitis has been demonstrated to show significant morbidity and mortality. Cultures and CT guided biopsy (CTB) are commonly used diagnosis of osteodiscitis. This study's purpose is to evaluate the cost burden of CTB and to evaluate how IVDU affects patient management in the setting of osteodiscitis.

METHODS: Patients admitted for osteodiscitis from 2011-2021 were retrospectively reviewed and stratified into cohorts by CTB status. Additional cohorts were stratified by Intravenous Drug Use (IVDU). Patient demographics, total cost of hospitalization, length of hospitalization, time to biopsy, IVDU status, and other factors were recorded. T-Test, Chi-squared analysis, and ANOVA were used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS: Total cost of hospitalization was recorded for 140 patients without CTB and 346 patients with CTB. Average cost of hospitalization for non-CTB was $227,317.86 compared to CTB at $119,799.20 (p < 0.001). Length of stay (LOS) was found to be 18.01 days for non-CTB and 14.07 days for CTB patients (0.00282). When stratified by days until biopsy, patients who had CTB sooner, had significantly reduced cost of hospitalization (p = 0.0003). Patients with IVDU history were significantly younger (p < 0.001) with lower BMI (p < 0.001) and a significantly different clinical profile. There was a significant difference in positive open biopsy when separated by IVDU status (p = 0.025).

CONCLUSION: CTB was associated with significantly reduced cost of hospitalization and LOS compared to non-CTB. IVDU patients with osteodiscitis have significantly different clinical profiles than non-IVDU that may impact diagnosis and treatment. Further work is indicated to elucidate causes of these differences to provide high value care to patients with osteodiscitis.