Intensive care unit resources and patient‐centred outcomes in severe COVID‐19: a prospective single‐centre economic evaluation

Summary During the COVID‐19 pandemic, ICU bed shortages sparked a discussion about resource allocation. We aimed to analyse the value of ICU treatment of COVID‐19 from a patient‐centred health economic perspective. We prospectively included 49 patients with severe COVID‐19 and calculated direct medical treatment costs. Quality of life was converted into aggregated quality‐adjusted life years using the statistical remaining life expectancy. Costs for non‐treatment as the comparator were estimated using the value of statistical life year approach. We used multivariable linear or logistic regression to identify predictors of treatment costs, quality of life and survival. Mean (SD) direct medical treatment costs were higher in patients in ICU with COVID‐19 compared with those without (£60,866 (£42,533) vs. £8282 (£14,870), respectively; p