Finger replantation in the United States: rates and resource use from the 1996 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project.
Although finger replantation has been performed by hand surgeons in the United States for over 30 years the epidemiology of this procedure has not been studied. We used a national sampling database from the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research to summarize descriptive statistics surrounding finger replantation in the United States. This sample contained 304 cases of finger replantation performed in 1996. Mean hospital length of stay was 5.5 days and mean total charges were $20,330. Of the 906 hospitals included in this database, only 136 performed finger replantation during 1996. Of those, 60% performed only one case and 2% performed 10 or more cases. This descriptive analysis provides an examination of the largest sample size to date of finger replantation in the United States. Epidemiologic studies using national databases can provide researchers and policy makers with the analyses needed to examine treatment options and appropriately allocate future health care resources.
Chung
K C
KC
Section of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, The University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor 248109-0340, USA.
Kowalski
C P
CP
Walters
M R
MR
D000328:Adult; D000673:Amputation, Traumatic / Q000191:economics / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D016208:Databases, Factual / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005385:Fingers / Q000601:surgery*; D006295:Health Resources / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017722:Hospital Charges / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017721:Hospital Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D012092:Replantation / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States; D016270:United States Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality