TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2005//
TI  - The cost of treating serious abdominal firearm-related injuries in South Africa
JO  - South African medical journal SAMJ
A1  - Allard, D.
A1  - Burch, V. C.
SP  - 591
EP  - 594
VL  - 95
IS  - 8
N2  - INTRODUCTION: Firearms, the leading external cause of non-natural deaths in South Africa, claim approximately 15,000 lives annually. Up to 127,000 firearm-injured victims seek state health care assistance per annum. The fiscal burden of treating these injuries is not known. METHODS: All serious abdominal firearm-related injuries (requiring admission to hospital and emergency surgery) presenting to a state hospital over a 6-month period were reviewed. A cost analysis using five variables was performed: operating theatre time, duration of hospital and high-care unit stay, pharmaceutical and blood products used, laboratory services used and diagnostic imaging studies performed. RESULTS: Twenty-three patients with serious abdominal gunshot injuries were admitted, of whom 21 (91%) were treated at the hospital from admission until discharge. Each admission cost approximately US dollars 1,467. Hospital stay (47%) and operating theatre (30%) costs accounted for most of the total cost. Pharmaceuticals and blood products (20%), laboratory services (2%) and imaging studies (1%) contributed less than 25% to the total cost. CONCLUSION: Serious abdominal gunshot injuries cost at least 13-fold more than the annual per capita South African government expenditure on health. This fiscal burden of approximately US dollars 2.9 million, almost 4% of the annual health budget, does not include the cost of treating other serious gunshot injuries. These findings highlight the need for successful violence prevention strategies in South African.
LA  - 
SN  - 0038-2469
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -