Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 5, 2026
Experimental Strategies to Bridge Large Tissue Gaps in the Injured Spinal Cord after Acute and Chronic Lesion
Published on: April 5, 2016
Healthcare Costs of Pressure Injuries among Patients with a Spinal Cord Injury within a Dutch Rehabilitation Center
Boas J Wijker1, Sonja de Groot, Anne-Fleur Boertje
1Boas J. Wijker, BSc, is PhD Candidate, Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Sonja de Groot, PhD, is Associate Professor, Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Senior Researcher, Amsterdam Rehabilitation Research Center, Reade, the Netherlands. Anne-Fleur Boertje, MSc, is Student, Department of Health Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Jacinthe J. E. Adriaansen, MD, PhD, is Rehabilitation Physician, Amsterdam Rehabilitation Research Center. Wendy J. Achterberg-Warmer, MD, is Rehabilitation Physician, Amsterdam Rehabilitation Research Center. Amber Wighman, NP, is Nurse Practitioner, Triade Vitree, Lelystad, the Netherlands. Maurits W. van Tulder, PhD, MSc, is Dean, Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Thomas W. J. Janssen, PhD, is Full Professor, Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and Senior Researcher, Amsterdam Rehabilitation Research Center. Johanna M. van Dongen, PhD, MSc, is Associate Professor, Department of Health Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Objective:
To assess the healthcare costs of pressure injuries (PIs) among patients with a spinal cord injury (SCI) in a Dutch rehabilitation center and determine if those costs were associated with patients' age or sex.
Methods:
The direct healthcare costs of PIs were estimated using data from electronic health records of a Dutch rehabilitation center. This dataset contained demographic, clinical, and resource use information of all patients with an SCI or a PI who were treated at the rehabilitation center because of a PI between 2009 and 2022. Standard prices were used to value inpatient rehabilitation, whereas a micro-costing approach was used to value outpatient consultations and material costs. Using ordinary least squares regression analyses, the authors assessed whether the costs were associated with age and sex, after correcting for the patients' length of PI care.
Results:
Between 2009 and 2022, 409 patients with an SCI were treated at the rehabilitation center for a PI. The patients' mean total length of PI care was 883 ± 1,266 days (median, 137 days; interquartile range, 10-1,620). The mean total rehabilitation cost of PIs among these patients was €15,412 (USD $16,836) per patient with a mean total annual rehabilitation cost of €6,368 (USD $6,956) per patient. Costs were not significantly associated with age and sex.
Conclusions:
The healthcare costs of PIs among patients with an SCI in a Dutch rehabilitation center represent a significant economic burden. Prevention of PIs seems warranted, not only from a clinical perspective, but also from a health economic perspective.
Related Concept Videos
01:54The Spinal Cord
01:30Specialized Care Centers and Settings-II
Rural health centers are specialized care facilities in remote locations with very few medical personnel. The primary care providers who run the centers are mostly Registered Nurse Practitioners. Here, emergency treatment is provided to critically ill or injured patients before they are transferred to the closest hospital. Fortunately, due to advancement in technology, many rural healthcare facilities and professionals have easy access to diagnostic and treatment...