Surgical wound dehiscence in an Australian community nursing service: time and cost to healing

Surgical wound dehiscence (SWD) increases the length of hospital stay and impacts on patient wellbeing and health-care costs. Globally, the health-care costs associated with SWD are poorly reported and those reported are frequently associated with surgical site infection (SSI), rather than dehiscence of non-microbial cause. This retrospective study describes and reports on the costs and time to healing associated with a number of surgical patients who were referred to a community nursing service for treatment of an SWD following discharge from a metropolitan hospital, in Perth, Western Australia.

Descriptive statistical analysis was carried out to describe the patient, wound and treatment characteristics. A costing analysis was conducted to investigate the cost of healing these wounds.

Among the 70 patients referred with a SWD, 55% were treated for an infected wound dehiscence which was a significant factor (p=0.001). Overall, the cost of treating the 70 patients with a SWD in a community nursing service was in excess of $56,000 Australian dollars (AUD) (£28,705) and did not include organisational overheads or travel costs for nurse visits. The management of infection contributed to 67% of the overall cost.

SWD remains an unquantified aspect of wound care from a prevalence and fiscal point of view. Further work needs to be done in the identification of SWD and which patients may be 'at risk'.

The authors declare they have no competing interests.