Stima dei costi sanitari dell'ischemia critica cronica degli arti

The health costs for critical leg ischaemia, resulting from the prevalence of disease in a 1 year period have been estimated in this research. The estimation of overall health costs (diagnosis and therapeutic treatment) has been obtained by classifying patients into homogeneous groups based on the different kinds of treatment given. This research aims at identifying the specific costs involved in the diagnosis and treatment for critical leg ischaemia and then to quantify the economic implications. The methodology used in this research is based on the data found in national and foreign publications on the subject which are then verified in the field. In order to carry the research out, a number of angiology and cardiovascular surgery divisions in Italian hospitals were involved. The methodology applied in the financial estimation of the health costs were calculated by taking into consideration costs sustained by both the Public Health Service and patients. The prevalence of critical leg ischaemia is between 500-1,000 cases per million inhabitants. Patients were classified on the basis of the treatment they undertook. The estimated overall health costs involved in treating critical leg ischaemia in Italy vary between a minimum of 389,717,930,700 and a maximum of 779,435,861,400 Italian lira. The results obtained are sustained by empirical observations. The number of patients receiving either anticoagulant or antiplatelets treatment and the average days of hospital stay for laboratory tests have been modified in order to verify the variations in the final results obtained based on changes in the original parameters. The variation in the former group was 1% and in the latter group 8.9%, which confirm the results obtained in the research