Highlights
Phlegmasia Cerulea Dolens, a rare & life-threatening condition caused by a massive DVT that is associated with arterial occlusion caused by the subsequent compartment syndrome.
Phlegmasia Cerulea Dolens could be a result of improper management of acute proximal DVT in the background of anatomical variabilities like May-Turner syndrome.
Despite the late presentation of such a rare condition there still a role for a limb preserving approach with endovascular techniques.
BACKGROUND:
Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) are a critical complication of diabetes mellitus (DM) affecting life quality and significantly impacting healthcare resources.
OBJECTIVE:
Determine the direct medical costs associated with treating DFU in King Fahad Hospital of the University and identify factors that could assist in developing resource management guidelines in Saudi Arabia.
DESIGN:
Retrospective study.
SETTING:
SETTING: King Fahad Hospital of the University, Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
PATIENTS AND METHODS:
The study included diabetic patients admitted with foot ulcerations between 2007 and 2017 inclusive. We determined management costs including drug usage, wound dressings, surgical procedures, admissions, and basic investigation.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:
Factors affecting the direct perspective medical costs of managing DFU.
SAMPLE SIZE:
99 patients.
RESULTS:
The overall cost of managing 99 patients with DFU was 6 618 043.3 SAR ($1 764 632.68 USD), which further translates to approximately 6684.9 SAR per patient/year ($1782.6 USD). The highest cost incurred was for admission expenditure (45.6%), followed by debridement (14.5%) and intensive care unit (ICU) admission (10.4%).
CONCLUSION:
The overall healthcare expenditure in treating DFU is high, with hospital admissions and surgical procedures adding a significant increase to the total cost. Focused patient education on overall glycemic control and prevention of DFU may decrease complications and hence, the overall cost.
LIMITATIONS:
Identified only the direct medical costs of DFU as the indirect costs were subjective and more difficult to quantify.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST:
None.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.