title: Direct variable cost of the topical treatment of stages III and IV pressure injuries incurred in a public university hospital.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to estimate the direct variable costs of the topical treatment of stages III and IV pressure injuries of hospitalized patients in a public university hospital, and assess the correlation between these costs and hospitalization time.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty patients of both sexes who had been admitted to the São Paulo Hospital, São Paulo, SP, Brazil, from 2011 to 2012, with pressure injuries in the sacral, ischial or trochanteric region were included. The patients had a total of 57 pressure injuries in the selected regions, and the lesions were monitored daily until patient release, transfer or death. The quantities and types of materials, as well as the amount of professional labor time spent on each procedure and each patient were recorded. The unit costs of the materials and the hourly costs of the professional labor were obtained from the hospital's purchasing and human resources departments, respectively. Spearman's correlation coefficient and the Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for the statistical analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean topical treatment costs for stages III and IV PIs were significantly different (US$ 854.82 versus US$ 1785.35; p = 0.004). The mean topical treatment cost of stages III and IV pressure injuries per patient was US$ 1426.37. The mean daily topical treatment cost per patient was US$ 40.83. There was a significant correlation between hospitalization time and the total costs of labor and materials (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference between hospitalization time periods for stages III and IV pressure injuries (40.80 days and 45.01 days, respectively; p = 0.834).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The mean direct variable cost of the topical treatment for stages III and IV pressure injuries per patient in this public university hospital was US$ 1426.37.
authors.affiliation: Translational Surgery at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), Rua Napoleão de Barros, 715, 4th floor (Plastic Surgery Secretary), São Paulo, SP, 04024-002, Brazil. Electronic address: julieta.chacon@uol.com.br.
authors.forename: Julieta M F
authors.initials: JMF
authors.lastname: Chacon
authors.affiliation: Translational Surgery at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), Rua Napoleão de Barros, 715, 4th floor (Plastic Surgery Secretary), São Paulo, SP, 04024-002, Brazil. Electronic address: leilablanes@ig.com.br.
authors.forename: Leila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Blanes
authors.affiliation: Health Management and Economics (UNIFESP), Rua Napoleão de Barros, 715, 4th floor (Plastic Surgery Secretary), São Paulo, SP, 04024-002, Brazil. Electronic address: borba@gbservicos.com.br.
authors.forename: Luis G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Borba
authors.affiliation: Plastic Surgery (UNIFESP), Sapucaí Valley University (UNIVAS), Rua Napoleão de Barros, 715, 4th floor (Plastic Surgery Secretary), São Paulo, SP, 04024-002, Brazil. Electronic address: rocha.univasvirtual@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Luis R M
authors.initials: LRM
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.affiliation: Division of Plastic Surgery (UNIFESP), CAPES Medical Coordinator III, CNPq Researcher 1A, Rua Napoleão de Barros, 715, 4th floor (Plastic Surgery Secretary), São Paulo, SP, 04024-002, Brazil. Electronic address: lydiamferreira@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Lydia M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Ferreira
mesh_terms: D000287:Administration, Topical; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001458:Bandages / Q000191:economics; D004865:Equipment and Supplies, Hospital / Q000191:economics*; D005260:Female; D017721:Hospital Costs; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000191:economics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010564:Personnel, Hospital / Q000191:economics*; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000145:classification / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000191:economics*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
keywords: Debridement; Hospitalization; Pelvis; Pressure injury; Treatment costs