Purpose of the study
The cost effectiveness of wrist fractures in 1996 at Pitie-Salpetriere Hosp
ital in Paris has been thoroughly analysed. The purpose of this retrospecti
ve study was to identify the factors responsable for the variation in the t
reatement cost of those fractures.
Material and methods
Cost, hospital stay, functional status, ASA score and surgical treatment we
re analysed in 53 patients with a median age of 57 years.
Results
The mean cost per patient was 6 120 FF divided as follows: 26,1 % for pre-o
perative care, 36,4 % for surgical procedures, 37,5 % for post-operative ca
re. The mean hospital stay was 4,3 days. The cost of hospital personel (43
%) and medical investigations (35 %) were the two main sources of hospital
expenses beside medical materials (12,5 %), hostelry (5,5 %), and drugs (4
%).
Discussion
The duration of hospital stay, the age and the type of the fracture were th
e only factors that affected statistically the mean cost per patient. Furth
ermore, factors related to the patient as sex, place of residence prior to
admission, functionnal status, ASA score, had no influence on cost variatio
n.
Conclusion
Therefore, the best way to reduce the cost of wrist fractures management is
to minimize the hospital stay before and after surgical procedure to avoid
a lengthy and costly hospital stay and to minimize the abuse ut utilisatio
n of systematic medical investigations.