Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2005 Aug;59(2):464-7.
doi: 10.1097/01.ta.0000174732.90517.df.

Direct health care costs after traumatic spinal cord injury

Donna M Dryden  1 , L Duncan Saunders, Phillip Jacobs, Donald P Schopflocher, Brian H Rowe, Laura A May, Niko Yiannakoulias, Lawrence W Svenson, Donald C Voaklander
Affiliations

Direct health care costs after traumatic spinal cord injury

Donna M Dryden et al. J Trauma. 2005 Aug.

Abstract

Background: The objective was to quantify direct health care costs attributable to traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI).

Methods: This population-based cohort study followed individuals with SCI from date of injury to 6 years postinjury. SCI cases were matched to a comparison group randomly selected from the general population. Administrative data from a Canadian province with a universal publicly funded health care system and centralized health databases were used. Costs included hospitalizations, physician services, home care, and long-term care.

Results: Attributable costs in the first year were $121,600 (2002 $CDN) per person with a complete SCI, and $42,100 per person with an incomplete injury. In the subsequent 5 years, annual costs were $5,400 and $2,800 for persons with complete and incomplete SCIs, respectively.

Conclusion: Direct costs in the first year after SCI are substantial. In the subsequent 5 years, individuals with SCI will continue to accrue greater costs than the general public.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types