Objective To estimate the cost of continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) in public hospitals and analyze the main influencing factors of the cost, in order to provide evidence for the optimal application of CRRT technology. Methods In March 2021, activity-based costing was used to estimate and analyze the cost of CRRT, the data of which were collected from 5 hospitals in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Henan, Sichuan and Xinjiang, and single factor sensitivity analysis was used to find the main influencing factors of the cost. Results The hourly treatment costs of CRRT in the 5 hospitals ranged from 265.30 to 474.44 yuan, with an average of 376.81 yuan. The costs of manpower and filters accounted for the top two largest proportions, the manpower cost of continuous veno-venous hemofiltration and continuous veno-venous hemodiafiltration accounted for 22.90% and 21.51%, respectively, and the filters cost of the two types of CRRT accounted for 15.07% and 17.73%, respectively. The unit cost and cost composition varied greatly between hospitals. There were four factors affecting the unit cost, namely clinical operation, efficiency, price and patient, among which clinical operation difference was the primary factor leading to cost difference. Conclusions The application cost of CRRT technology varies greatly among hospitals, and there are many factors affecting the cost. Public hospitals face great pressure in cost control. It is necessary to strengthen the internal control operation management of public hospitals, establish CRRT clinical operation standards, and improve the quality of medical services in public hospitals.
ObjectiveTo investigate the construction strategy of a knowledge base for health technology assessment (HTA) indicators based on a multi-granularity knowledge representation model, in order to meet the users' diverse demands for HTA knowledge services. MethodsFirstly, we constructed a multi-granularity HTA indicator knowledge representation model based on systematically analyzing the content and structure of the HTA indicator system in literature. Secondly, we extracted multi-granularity HTA indicator knowledge from literatures and conduct subject indexing in a human-computer collaborative way. Finally, based on the HTA knowledge service requirements, a prototype of the HTA indicator knowledge base-HTA Indicators was designed and developed. ResultsA multi-granularity HTA indicator knowledge representation model was constructed, covering 5 core knowledge units(indicator systems, indicator items, formulas, measurement variables, and subjects), 20 types of attributes, and 12 types of relationships. This model represents the intrinsic characteristics and connections between multi-granularity indicator knowledge units. Knowledge extraction and subject indexing of multi-grain HTA indicators were conducted based on 227 HTA indicator documents, forming instance data. Finally, a prototype of the HTA indicator knowledge base, named HTA Indicators, was developed.HTA Indicators provides services such as multi-granularity HTA indicator knowledge retrieval, navigation, and linking. ConclusionThe construction strategy of the HTA indicator knowledge base based on the multi-granularity knowledge representation model is feasible. The indicator knowledge base can achieve multi-dimensional semantic organization of indicator knowledge, provide multi-level and multi-dimensional indicator knowledge retrieval and discovery services, and meet the users' demand for precise HTA knowledge. In the future, we will explore the use of cutting-edge technologies such as large language models to achieve the automated construction of large-scale HTA knowledge, thereby enhancing the efficiency and intelligence level of knowledge base construction.