The cost of managing diabetic foot ulceration in an Irish hospital

Background Little is known about the economic impact of diabetic foot ulceration in the Irish healthcare setting. Aim Audit of diabetic foot ulcer admissions in St James's Hospital between April 2001 and March 2002. Methods Hospital charts were reviewed and costs were calculated on the length of patients' hospital stay and the cost of individual investigations performed. Results Thirty patients were admitted with diabetic foot ulceration as the primary complaint. Amputation was performed in eight patients, two patients with a non-healing ulcer died. The average duration of each hospital admission was 20.3 +/- 30.7 days. Net in-hospital expenditure was 704,689, an average of 23,489.63 per hospital admission. Conclusions The management of diabetic foot ulceration has a significant economic impact on the Irish healthcare budget. Treatment should therefore be focused on primary prevention through specialised foot clinics and a multidisciplinary team approach to reduce this economic burden.