Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To estimate the direct healthcare costs of spinal disorders in Brazil over 2016.
METHODS: This is a prevalence-based cost-of-illness study with a top-down approach from the perspective of the public healthcare system. All international Classification of Diseases codes related to spinal disorders were included. The following costs were obtained: (1) hospitalization; medical professional service costs; intensive care unit costs; companion daily stay; (2) outpatient (services/procedures). Data were analyzed descriptively and costs presented in US$.
RESULTS: The healthcare system spent US$ 71.4 million, and inpatient care represented 58%. The number of inpatient days was 250,426, and there were 36,654 hospital admissions (dorsalgia and disk disorders representing 70% of the costs). More than 114,000 magnetic resonance scans and 107,000 computerized tomography scans were adopted. Men had more inpatient days (138,215) than women (112,211). Overall, the inpatient/outpatient cost ratio was twice as high for men.
CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that the direct costs of spinal disorders in Brazil in 2016 were considerable. We also found a substantial amount of financial resources spent on diagnostic imaging. This is relevant as the routine use of diagnostic imaging for back pain is discouraged in international guidelines.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 965-974 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | International Journal of Public Health |
Volume | 64 |
Issue number | 6 |
Early online date | 15 May 2019 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jul 2019 |
Funding
The authors acknowledge CAPES (Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education) for the Postdoctoral Research Abroad scholarship, Process No. 88881.120102/2016-01. The authors acknowledge CAPES (Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education) for the Postdoctoral Research Abroad scholarship, Process No. 88881.120102/2016-01.
Funders | Funder number |
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Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education | |
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior | 88881.120102/2016-01 |
Keywords
- low back pain
- Back pain
- Cost of illness
- Costs and cost analysis
- Hospital costs