Cost considerations for the use of low-air-loss bed therapy in adult intensive care.

The aim of this study was to consider the costs of low-air-loss bed therapy in the adult intensive care unit (ICU). A retrospective cost analysis was performed on 269 consecutive patients, 63 of whom had received low-air-loss bed therapy. Patients' APACHE II scores, length of stay (LOS), average daily TISS and ICU outcomes were also collected. Patients' APACHE II and LOS were further studied using odds ratios to test for an association between these factors and likelihood of receiving bed therapy. A prospective 10-week study to identify the amount of nursing time spent repositioning patients was also performed. The results of this study found the bed therapy to represent approximately 3% of the total average cost of care per patient. Patients requiring the bed therapy had higher APACHE II scores on admission, higher average daily TISS points and a longer length of ICU stay. Study of the odds ratios would suggest that the likelihood of patients receiving low-air-loss bed therapy increases if their APACHE II score on admission is between 11 and 20 and they stay > 4.5 days in the ICU. The results of the prospective study found the daily cost of repositioning patients to be 172.80 Pounds per patient.