Evaluation of Clinical Features and Cost of Foot and Ankle Traumas in the Emergency Department
Abstract
Objectives: Foot and ankle injuries are among the most common injuries in trauma patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical
characteristics of patients who applied to the emergency department with foot and ankle traumas and the healthcare costs in these patients.
Materials and Methods: Adult patients aged 18 years and over, who applied to the emergency department of a university hospital due to foot and
ankle trauma, were retrospectively analyzed. Patients’ age, gender, trauma mechanism, presence of bone fracture, fracture location, fracture type,
treatment method, and in-hospital cost were examined. Comparisons of variables between the groups were performed with the chi-square test,
Kruskal-Wallis, and the Mann-Whitney test. Statistically, p<0.05 was considered significant.
Results: A total of 523 patients were analyzed in the study, and 55.4% (n=290) of them were male. The most common trauma mechanism in the
patients was ground-level fall (68.8%). It was observed that 16.1% of the patients had bone fractures and the most common fracture location was
the phalanges (36.9%). The average cost per patient was found to be 123.22±505.114 Turkish Liras (TL) and the highest cost was in the patients who
underwent surgical treatment (2172.11±1767,376 TL).
Conclusion: Health care expenses due to foot and ankle traumas constitute an important economic burden considering that the average cost per
patient in this study was 123.22 TL and indirect financial effects. Protective measures should be taken against falls and other injury mechanisms in
order to reduce health care costs related to foot and ankle traumas.
Keywords
Emergency Medicine, Ankle Fractures, Foot Injury, Healthcare Costs
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