This paper reports the cost of outpatient venous
thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis following 388 injuries of the lower
limb requiring immobilisation in our institution, from a total of
7408 new patients presenting between May and November 2011. Prophylaxis
was by either self-administered subcutaneous dalteparin (n = 128)
or oral dabigatran (n = 260). The mean duration of prophylaxis per
patient was 46 days (6 to 168). The total cost (pay and non-pay)
for prophylaxis with dalteparin was £107.54 and with dabigatran
was £143.99. However, five patients in the dalteparin group required
nurse administration (£23 per home visit), increasing the cost of
dalteparin to £1142.54 per patient. The annual cost of VTE prophylaxis
in a busy trauma clinic treating 12 700 new patients (2010/11), would
be
£92 526.33 in the context of an income for trauma of £1.82 million,
which represents 5.3% of the outpatient tariff. Outpatient prophylaxis in a busy trauma clinic is achievable
and affordable in the context of the clinical and financial risks
involved. Cite this article:
The aim of this study was to examine the rates
and potential risk factors for 28-day re-admission following a fracture
of the hip at a high-volume tertiary care hospital. We retrospectively
reviewed 467 consecutive patients with a fracture of the hip treated
in the course of one year. Causes and risk factors for unplanned
28-day re-admissions were examined using univariate and multivariate
analysis, including the difference in one-year mortality. A total
of 55 patients (11.8%) were re-admitted within 28 days of discharge.
The most common causes were pneumonia in 15 patients (27.3%), dehydration
and renal dysfunction in ten (18.2%) and deteriorating mobility
in ten (18.2%). A moderate correlation was found between chest infection
during the initial admission and subsequent re-admission with pneumonia
(r = 0.44, p <
0.001). A significantly higher mortality rate
at one year was seen in the re-admission group (41.8% (23 of 55)
