TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2022//
TI  - Health-care utilization and expenditures associated with long-term treatment after combat and non-combat-related orthopaedic trauma
JO  - Journal of bone and joint surgery: American volume
A1  - Hering, Kalei
A1  - Fisher, Miles W. A.
A1  - Dalton, Michael K.
A1  - Simpson, Andrew K.
A1  - Ye, Jamie
A1  - Suneja, Nishant
A1  - Cooper, Zara
A1  - Koehlmoos, Tracey P.
A1  - Schoenfeld, Andrew J.
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - BACKGROUND: The long-term consequences of musculoskeletal trauma can be profound and can extend beyond the post-injury period. The surveillance of long-term expenditures among individuals who sustain orthopaedic trauma has been limited in prior work. We sought to compare the health-care requirements of active-duty individuals who sustained orthopaedic injuries in combat and non-combat (United States) environments using TRICARE claims data. <br><br>METHODS: We identified service members who sustained combat or non-combat musculoskeletal injuries between 2007 and 2011. Combat-injured personnel were matched to those in the non-combat-injured cohort on a 1:1 basis using biologic sex, year of the injury, Injury Severity Score (ISS), and age at the index hospitalization. Health-care utilization was surveyed through 2018. The total health-care expenditures over the post-injury period were the primary outcome. These were assessed as a total overall cost and then as costs adjusted per year of follow-up. We used negative binomial regression to identify the independent association between risk factors and health-care expenditures. <br><br>RESULTS: We identified 2,119 individuals who sustained combat-related orthopaedic trauma and 2,119 individuals who sustained non-combat injuries. The most common mechanism of injury within the combat-injured cohort was blast-related trauma (59%), and 418 individuals (20%) sustained an amputation. The total costs were $156,886 for the combat-injured group compared with $55,873 for the non-combat-injured group (p < 0.001). Combat-related orthopaedic injuries were associated with a 43% increase in health-care expenditures (incidence rate ratio, 1.43 [95% confidence interval, 1.19 to 1.73]). Severe ISS at presentation, ≥2 comorbidities, and amputations were also significantly associated with health-care utilization, as was junior enlisted rank, our proxy for socioeconomic status. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Health-care requirements and associated costs are substantial among service members sustaining combat and non-combat orthopaedic trauma. Given the sociodemographic characteristics of our cohort, we believe that these results are translatable to civilians who sustain similar types of musculoskeletal trauma.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0021-9355
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.2106/JBJS.21.01124
ID  - ref1
ER  -