[Cost effectiveness of inpatient hospital care, day hospital care and outpatient consultation in pneumology. Apropos of 162 patients].

The authors report the results of a non-randomised study comparing the efficacy (in terms of confirmation of the diagnosis, the extent of disease, and measurements of airflow obstruction, and of the therapeutic index), and the efficiency in 58 patients suffering from lung cancer as well as 62 patients suffering from chronic airflow obstruction, and 42 asthmatics. These patients were seen in one of three possible services of a respiratory medicine department of a university hospital. The possibilities were inpatient stay in hospital, day hospital, or outpatient consultation. All the patients except one were totally independent, and could be taken into anyone of the three hospital services. The diagnostic efficacy for lung cancer was independent of the type of service used. The day hospital was four times more efficient than inpatient care for lung cancer, and consultation was 3.5 and 4.6 times more efficient than the day hospital for asthma and chronic airflow obstruction respectively. The balance of efficiency and the index of satisfaction experienced by the patients on the service used accentuated these differences.