The stroke burden continues to increase [1].

In Finland, the mean

one-year costs after an ischemic stroke are approximately 21 300 €, and

the average stroke-related lifetime healthcare costs 60 000 €. The sum

annually spent in the treatment of stroke patients in Finland is 7% of total

healthcare costs, and stroke is one of the most significant causes of

hospitalization [2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Institutional care constitutes the largest

proportion of costs [4, 5, 7, 8], and length of stay in hospital is the most

critical determinant of high total costs [6, 9]. Accordingly, correct

calculation of inpatient treatment costs is crucial [10].

Traditionally, total hospital costs have been calculated based on the

sum of the values of inpatient days and outpatient visits