Experience of nail bed injuries at a tertiary hand trauma unit: a 12-month review and cost analysis

摘要

The aim of this study was to analyse the management of nail bed injuries from a clinical and economic perspective. We carried out a retrospective analysis of nail bed injuries treated operatively at a tertiary Plastic Surgery Hand Trauma Unit during 2016. The National Schedule of Reference Costs (2015-2016) was used to estimate the costs of treating 630 patients. The most common mechanism was a crush injury in a door (33%). Fifty-five per cent of patients had an associated tuft fracture. The minimum cost per annum for patients treated for nail bed injuries in our unit was calculated to be 511,560 pound (euro573,362; US$666,664). Many nail bed injuries are preventable and because they present a very high financial burden on the National Health Service, targeted prevention strategies should be considered.