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Use of one-third tubular plating for fibula fractures may lead to $40 million in annual cost savings
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General use of one-third tubular plating for fibula fractures may result in cost savings in the United States of up to nearly $40 million annually compared with use of anatomic plating, according to results published in Orthopedics.
To characterize the economic implications of implant choice, researchers performed a retrospective review of 201 consecutive patients with operatively treated Orthopaedic Trauma Association type 44B and 44C ankles. Researchers performed a Nationwide Inpatient Sample query to estimate the incidence of ankle fractures requiring fibular plating. They also performed a Monte Carlo simulation with the estimated at-risk U.S. population for associated plate-specific costs.
Results showed an estimated annual incidence of operatively treated ankle fractures of 59,029 in the United States. Researchers found a one-third tubular plate had an average cost of $90.86 compared with $746.97 for an anatomic plate. Plate costs across the United States totaled $5,363,375 per year with the use of only one-third tubular plating and $44,092,892 per year with the use of anatomic plating, according to results, yielding a statistically significant difference of $38,729,517 per year. – by Casey Tingle
Disclosure s : Chang reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.
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