An approach to the economic impact of the treatment of pressure ulcers in Spain
J. Javier Soldevilla Agreda, Joan-Enric Torra i Bou, John Posnett, José Verdú Soriano, Lorena San Miguel, José M. Mayan Santos

SUMMARY

   Pressure ulcers are a seriuos and debilitating condition treated in all care settings andhave a significant impact in both patients and healtcare resources. The objetive of thisstudy was to estimate overall treatment costs to the Spanish healthcare system by usinga bottom-up costing approach.This study demonstrates that the cost to heal a pressure ulcer increases substantiallywith the severity of the ulcer, ranging from € 24 ([$ 32.16], Grade I) to € 6.802 ([$ 9.115], Grade IV) for patients treated in hospitals. Ulcer severity increases overallcost because the time to heal is longer and the incidence of complications is higher inmore severe cases. The total cost of pressure ulcer treatment in Spain is approximately 461 million ([$ 618 million], roughly 5% of total annual healthcare expenditure). Of this, 15% represents the cost of dressings and other materials, while 19% represents the cost of nursing time, and 45% represents the cost of ulcer-related hospital stys.

KEY WORDS

    Burden, pressure ulcers, Spain.

Vol. 18 nº4-2007