Background . Encephalitis is a significant global health problem, especially in children. Knowledge of its economic burden is essential for policymakers in prioritizing the development and implementation of interventions but remains limited. Methods . An observational study was prospectively conducted at a major children’s hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, from 2020 to 2022. Data on direct medical costs, direct non-medical costs and productivity costs were collected alongside demographic information, clinical features, diagnosis, severity, and outcomes of study participants. This was used to undertake a cost of illness analysis from a societal perspective. Results . Data were collected from a total of 164 pediatric patients. The mean cost of illness per case was estimated at US$2,820.43 (95% confidence interval (CI), US$2,431.96–US$3,208.91), of which productivity costs accounted for US$434.04 (95% CI, US$362.48–US$505.60). The direct costs were the main cost driver, accounting for 84.6% of the total cost of illness (US$2,386.38 (95%CI: US$2,033.91–US$2,738.85)). The cost of illness was higher in more severe patients, patients with sequelae, and ventilated patients. On average 51.8% of direct medical costs attributed to hospitalisation (US$960.09) resulted in out-of-pocket payments from the patient’s family. Conclusions . The results showed that the cost of illness of encephalitis in children is considerable. The results will be useful for policymakers in prioritizing resources for the development and implementation of intervention strategies to reduce the burden of pediatric encephalitis.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9579742/

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The Institutional Review Board of Children’s Hospital 1 (1503/QD-BVND1) and the Oxford Tropical Research Ethics Committee (OxTREC 7-20) approved the study. The collection of all biological samples was performed as part of routine clinical assessments and was consistent with the local standard of care and good clinical practice. Written informed consent was obtained from all study participants or their representatives before any data from patients was collected for the study.

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