Display options
Cite
Urwin S, Dumville JC, Sutton M, et al. Health service costs of treating venous leg ulcers in the UK: evidence from a cross-sectional survey based in the north west of England. BMJ Open. 2022;12(1):e056790doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056790.
Urwin, S., Dumville, J. C., Sutton, M., & Cullum, N. (2022). Health service costs of treating venous leg ulcers in the UK: evidence from a cross-sectional survey based in the north west of England. BMJ open, 12(1), e056790. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056790
Urwin, Sean, et al. "Health service costs of treating venous leg ulcers in the UK: evidence from a cross-sectional survey based in the north west of England." BMJ open vol. 12,1 (2022): e056790. doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056790
Urwin S, Dumville JC, Sutton M, Cullum N. Health service costs of treating venous leg ulcers in the UK: evidence from a cross-sectional survey based in the north west of England. BMJ Open. 2022 Jan 06;12(1):e056790. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056790. PMID: 34992123.
Copy Download .nbib Format: NLM
Share it on

BMJ Open. 2022 Jan 06;12(1):e056790. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056790.

Health service costs of treating venous leg ulcers in the UK: evidence from a cross-sectional survey based in the north west of England.

BMJ open

Sean Urwin, Jo C Dumville, Matt Sutton, Nicky Cullum

Affiliations

  1. Health Organisation, Policy and Economics (HOPE) group, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK [email protected].
  2. Division of Nursing, Midwifery & Social Work, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
  3. Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Research and Innovation Division, Manchester University Foundation NHS Trust, Manchester, UK.
  4. Health Organisation, Policy and Economics (HOPE) group, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.

PMID: 34992123 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056790

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To estimate and examine the direct healthcare costs of treating people with open venous leg ulcers in the UK.

DESIGN: Cost-of-illness study.

SETTING: A cross-sectional survey of nine National Health Service community locales over 2-week periods in 2015/2016.

METHODS: We examined the resource use and prevalence of venous leg ulcer treatment in the community. Examination of variation in these obtained costs was performed by ordinary least squares regression. We used additional resource use information from a randomised control trial and extrapolated costs to the UK for an annual period.

RESULTS: The average 2-week per person cost of treating patients where a venous leg ulceration was the primary (most severe) wound was estimated at £166.39 (95% CI £157.78 to £175.00) with community staff time making up over half of this amount. Costs were higher where antimicrobial dressings were used and where wound care was delivered in the home. Among those with any recorded venous leg ulcer (primary and non-primary), we derived a point prevalence of 3.2 per 10 000 population and estimated that the annual prevalence could be no greater than 82.4 per 10 000 population. We estimated that the national cost of treating a venous leg ulcer was £102 million with a per person annual cost at £4787.70.

CONCLUSION: Our point prevalence figures are in line with the literature. However, our annual prevalence estimations and costs are far lower than those reported in recent literature which suggests that the costs of treating venous leg ulcers are lower than previously thought. Movement towards routinely collected and useable community care activity would help provide a transparent and deeper understanding of the scale and cost of wound care in the UK.

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

Keywords: epidemiology; health economics; wound management

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Publication Types