title: Economic burden of illness associated with diabetic foot ulcers in Canada.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The primary objective was to estimate the national burden of illness in Canada for diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) for 2011. Secondary objectives included estimating the national incidence and prevalence of DFU, and the 3-year average cost for DFU incident cases.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analyses were conducted using four national databases for the period April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2011, with cases being identified by ICD-10 CA codes. Resource utilization and costs, expressed in 2011 Canadian dollars, were estimated for DFU-related hospitalizations, emergency care (ER), same day surgeries, home care, long term care, physician visits and caregiver time losses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In Canada in the year 2011, DFU was associated with 16,883 hospital admissions (327,140 days), 31,095 ER or clinic visits, 41,367 rehabilitation clinic visits, and 26,493 interventions, including 6,036 amputations and 5,796 surgical debridements. This acute institution care represented $320.5 M, and with an additional $125.4 M for home care and $63.1 M for long term care, the annual cost associated with DFU-related care was $547.0 M, or $21,371 annual cost per prevalent case. In 2011, the national prevalence of DFU was 25,597 cases (75.1 per 100,000 population), consisting of 16,161 men (63.1%) and 9,436 women (36.9%), and an estimated 14,449 incident cases. For an incident case of DFU, the average 3-year cumulative cost was $52,360.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The annual burden for DFU cases that have at least one admission or ER/clinic visit over a 5 year period is higher than previously reported.
authors.affiliation: Programs for Assessment of Technology in Health (PATH) Research Institute, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Suite 2000 (20th floor), 25 Main St West, Hamilton, ON, Canada. hopkinr@mcmaster.ca.|Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada. hopkinr@mcmaster.ca.
authors.forename: Robert B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Hopkins
authors.affiliation: Programs for Assessment of Technology in Health (PATH) Research Institute, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Suite 2000 (20th floor), 25 Main St West, Hamilton, ON, Canada. nburke@mcmaster.ca.|Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada. nburke@mcmaster.ca.
authors.forename: Natasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.affiliation: Division of Vascular Surgery, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada. harlocj@mcmaster.ca.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Harlock
authors.affiliation: Programs for Assessment of Technology in Health (PATH) Research Institute, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Suite 2000 (20th floor), 25 Main St West, Hamilton, ON, Canada. jjegath@mcmaster.ca.|Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada. jjegath@mcmaster.ca.
authors.forename: Jathishinie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jegathisawaran
authors.affiliation: Programs for Assessment of Technology in Health (PATH) Research Institute, St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, Suite 2000 (20th floor), 25 Main St West, Hamilton, ON, Canada. goereer@mcmaster.ca.|Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada. goereer@mcmaster.ca.
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Goeree
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000671:Amputation, Surgical / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D017281:Cost of Illness; D017719:Diabetic Foot / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006295:Health Resources / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male