Costing pressure ulcer care in an Irish acute care setting: a feasibility study

Abstract

Objective: To test the feasibility of using a standardised data collection tool to estimate the cost of stage 2–4 pressure ulcer (PU) care within an acute care setting.

Method: Data on resource use and cost were obtained through a retrospective survey of nursing and medical notes collecting cost data for individual patients who received care for stage 2–4 PUs.

Results: Data for 20 patients (12 male/8 female) were analysed. The average patient age was 69 years (range: 37–95 years). Of this sample, seven patients had hospital-acquired PUs (HAPUs) and 14 patients had community-acquired PUs (CAPU) (one patient had both—in different anatomical areas). Over half of the total sample (55%; n=11) had a stage 2 PU. The average length of stay was 31.8 days (range: 5–119 days). Most of the patients (70%; n=14) had a CAPU. The average cost per patient with PU care was €878 (range: €39–2393). The mean cost for patients with a HAPU was €866 (SD: €1313) versus €911 (SD: €567) for patients with a CAPU. The majority of the cost related to equipment and staff time for treatment.