Document Detail


Trauma patients return to productivity.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  2056547     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Economic issues threaten the development of a national trauma system. Much work has focused on the cost of trauma care; little has been done to define society's long-term economic return. We asked three questions about high cost trauma patients: (1) Do they survive?, (2) Do they continue to require expensive care?, and (3) Do they return to productivity? Of 6,129 consecutive trauma admissions, 114 had hospital charges over $100,000 (mean = $143,000), 102 (89.5%) were discharged alive, and 10 (8.8%) were lost to followup. Ninety-two patients or families were interviewed at least 1 year (mean = 2.6 year) after discharge. There were 88 survivors and 4 deaths (3.5%). Of the 88 survivors 73% had no limitation of ADLs, 67% received rehabilitation, 58% were still improving, and 37% were involved in litigation. Five survivors (5.7%) were confined to a nursing home, 48 (54.5%) had returned to productivity (RTP), 35 (39.8%) were unemployed, and five of these still require medical therapy. We conclude: (1) The majority of high cost patients survive (89.5%) and return to productivity (54.5%); (2) the severity of injury predicts survival but not return to productivity; and (3) the RTP rate may be increased by addressing nonmedical need.
Authors:
J A Morris; A A Sanchez; S M Bass; E J MacKenzie
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  The Journal of trauma     Volume:  31     ISSN:  0022-5282     ISO Abbreviation:  J Trauma     Publication Date:  1991 Jun 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  1991-07-29     Completed Date:  1991-07-29     Revised Date:  2004-11-17    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0376373     Medline TA:  J Trauma     Country:  UNITED STATES    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  827-33; discussion 833-4     Citation Subset:  AIM; IM    
Affiliation:
Division of Trauma, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37212.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Activities of Daily Living
Adult
Education
Employment*
Follow-Up Studies
Hospitalization / economics
Humans
Injury Severity Score
Middle Aged
Nursing Homes
Outcome and Process Assessment (Health Care)
United States
Wounds and Injuries / economics*

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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