{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T14:04:38Z","timestamp":1787061878578,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,22]],"date-time":"2022-11-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1669075200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Viruses"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive overview of German nationwide data including (i) the number of hospitalized Post-COVID Syndrome (PCS) cases including in-hospital mortality rates and intensive care unit treatments, (ii) the main common concomitant diagnoses associated with PCS, (iii) the most frequently performed treatment procedures, and (iv) the annual direct healthcare costs. Methods: The incidence was calculated based on annual ICD-10 diagnosis codes \u201cU09.9!, Post-COVID-19 condition\u201d. Data on concomitant diagnoses, treatment procedures, treatment in an intensive care unit (ICU), in-hospital mortality, the proportion of G-DRGs, and cumulative costs were assessed based on the Institute for the Hospital Remuneration System (InEK) data for 2019. Results: A total of 29,808 PCS inpatients could be identified yielding a prevalence of 5.5%. In total, 1330 (4.5%) in-hospital deaths were recorded, and 5140 (17.2%) patients required ICU treatment. The majority of patients (18.6%) were aged 65\u201374 years. The most common concomitant diagnoses included pneumonia, critical illness polyneuropathy, dyspnea, chronic fatigue syndrome, and pulmonary embolisms. The most frequently performed procedures were computed tomography of the thorax with contrast medium, whole-body plethysmography, and the monitoring of respiration, heart, and circulation. The cost per case of the G-DRG codes that were analyzed ranged from \u20ac 620 \u00b1 377 (E64D, Respiratory insufficiency, one day of occupancy) to \u20ac 113,801 \u00b1 27,939 (A06B, Ventilation &gt; 1799 h with complex OR procedure). Total cumulative direct healthcare costs of \u20ac 136,608,719 were calculated, resulting in mean costs of \u20ac 4583 per case. Conclusion: Post-COVID Syndrome is of major public health importance with substantial financial implications. The present article can support stakeholders in health care systems to foresee future needs and adapt their resource management. Consensus diagnostic criteria and rehabilitation guidelines are highly warranted.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/v14122600","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,23]],"date-time":"2022-11-23T02:55:51Z","timestamp":1669172151000},"page":"2600","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":18,"title":["A Comprehensive Report of German Nationwide Inpatient Data on the Post-COVID-19 Syndrome Including Annual Direct Healthcare Costs"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0654-2076","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nike","family":"Walter","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany"},{"name":"Department for Trauma Surgery, University Hospital Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7221-3783","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Markus","family":"Rupp","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Trauma Surgery, University Hospital Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0459-9092","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Siegmund","family":"Lang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Trauma Surgery, University Hospital Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Beate","family":"Leinberger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Volker","family":"Alt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Trauma Surgery, University Hospital Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Thilo","family":"Hinterberger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Thomas","family":"Loew","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department for Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,11,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"(2022, September 22). 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