There are no standards in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to eye care in incomplete eyelid closure due to unresolved facial palsy (FP). Loading of the upper eyelid (UELL) with gold weights (GWs) or platinum chains (PCs) is a highly effective procedure for the correction of lagophthalmos. Despite this, the procedure is used infrequently in our country because of the relatively high price of the implant and the lack of reimbursement. The aim of this research was to assess the factors influencing medical expenditures in this group of patients and to analyze utility costs for the UELL procedure with the use of GW and PC compared to tarsorrhaphy.Material and methods The costs of 88 surgical procedures (40 GWs, 11 PCs and 37 tarsorrhaphies) and medical expenditures before and after surgery were calculated based on reporting of materials, staff salaries and the SF-36 questionnaire. Distribution quartiles of the cost per QALY measure (dependent variable) was assessed via an ordered logistic regression model with eight explanatory variables.Results The calculated total cost of the surgery was US$209 for tarsorrhaphy, US$758 for UELL with a GW and US$1,676 for UELL with a PC. Bootstrapped costs per QALY values (CUI) in 88% of cases were below the US$100,000 cutoff. Etiology and duration of facial palsy and presence of Bell's phenomenon were factors that significantly influenced the CUI. Patient gender and age, history of previous eyelid surgery, and presence of corneal sensation were found to be not significant (p > 0.1). Calculated ICER for GW was US$1,241.74/1QALY and ICER for PC was US$13,181.05/1QALY compared to tarsorrhaphy.Conclusions Eye protection in patients with FP should be a crucial element of health policy. Findings suggest UELL procedure with a GW or a PC to be a cost-effective procedure with GW being the most cost-effective.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11055228PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13561-024-00506-6DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

medical expenditures
12
facial palsy
12
factors influencing
8
influencing medical
8
unresolved facial
8
upper eyelid
8
uell procedure
8
procedure cost-effective
8
uell
5
procedure
5

Similar Publications

Background: In low and middle-income countries like Ghana, out-of-pocket (OOP) payments remain a significant barrier to healthcare access, often leading to catastrophic health expenditures (CHE). This study evaluates the incidence of CHE among patients treated for long bone fractures at Ghana's major teaching hospitals, providing insight into the economic burdens faced by these patients.

Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed data from 2,980 patients with long bone fractures treated at four major teaching hospitals in Ghana from July 2017 to July 2020.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Will the increase of medical equipment affect medical expenditure? Empirical evidence from a quasi-experiment in China.

BMC Health Serv Res

January 2025

School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi'an Jiaotong University, No. 28 Xianning West Road, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710049, China.

Background: Many studies have shown that using new technologies and medical equipment contributes to increasing health expenditure. Relatively less empirical studies have measured the impact of medical equipment on rising medical costs in China. Against this backdrop, we aim to examine whether the large-scale medical equipment deployment explains the increase in health expenditure.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Assessing the financial burden of multimorbidity among patients aged 30 and above in India.

BMC Health Serv Res

January 2025

Health Systems Transformation Platform (HSTP), AISF Building, First Floor, Kalka Devi Marg, Lajpat Nagar IV, New Delhi, 110024, India.

Background: Multimorbidity is associated with significant out-of-pocket expenditures (OOPE) and catastrophic health expenditure (CHE), especially in low- and middle-income countries like India. Despite this, there is limited research on the financial burden of multimorbidity in outpatient and inpatient care, and cross-state comparisons of CHE are underexplored.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using nationally representative data from the National Sample Survey 75th Round 'Social Consumption in India: Health (2017-18)', focusing on patients aged 30 and above in outpatient and inpatient care in India.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: It is not yet clear to what extent the physiological regulatory mechanisms that maintain core body temperature are reflected by changes in resting energy expenditure (REE). Particularly in indirect calorimetry with a canopy, the effects of short-term temperature exposures have not yet been investigated. This can be of relevance for the determination of REE in practice.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To compare direct, non-medical out-of-pocket expenditures (OOPE) between mothers receiving Alberta Family Integrated Care (FICare™) versus standard care (SC) during their infant's neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission and explore factors influencing spending extremes.

Methods: In this exploratory, concurrent mixed-methods sub-study, we compared mother-reported OOPE from Alberta FICare™ and SC parent journals. We thematically analyzed hand-written notes from 30 journals with the highest and lowest 5 % of OOPE.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!