Estimated Economic Cost of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy with Instillation Versus Control Therapies

At a time when economically stressed health care systems face pressure to deliver improved outcomes for patients, a poster presented at SAWC Spring showed the use of with instillation and dwelling of a topical wound solution (NPWTi-d) can potentially save costs.

The study, the highest scoring poster abstract at SAWC Spring, developed an economic model to estimate the cost of NPWTi-d versus control therapies based on a systematic review/meta-analysis of 13 comparative NPWTi-d studies comprising 720 patients. Study inputs included the mean number of debridements during therapy, time to readiness for final surgical procedure, length of hospital stay, and length of therapy.

Utilizing these inputs and an assumed mean daily cost of $2,517 per inpatient stay and $3,393 per operating room debridement, the economic model showed the following comparative costs for NPWTi-d vs control, respectively: $28,669 vs $67,430 per inpatient stay, $6,006 vs $9,127 for debridement expenditures, and $1,415 vs $2,070 for NPWTi-d product versus standard NPWT product costs, notes the abstract.

The abstract notes the total estimated cost per patient for NPWTi-d vs control, respectively, was $36,089 vs $78,628 based on assumed reduced length of hospital stay, fewer debridements, shorter length of therapy, and reduced time to final surgical procedure for NPWTi-d patients.

Click here to view the poster.