On 2017 Nov 28, Andrea Messori commented:

Ventral hernia surgery: economic information in a series of Italian patients

Andrea Messori, Sabrina Trippoli

HTA Unit, ESTAR Toscana, Firenze, Italy

The paper by Rampado et al. [1] is the first analysis that examines the issue of costs in Italian patients undergoing incisional hernia repair with synthetic or biological meshes. One interesting finding of this study is the analysis of DRGs and reimbursements observed in this real-life setting. Table 2 of the article by Rampado et al. [1] shows that 7 different DRGs were employed for the overall series of 76 patients divided in three groups. The amounts reimbursed according to these 7 DRGs ranged from EUR 1,704.03 to EUR 13,352.72 (mean value = EUR 2,901 weighted according to the number of patients in the three groups). The length of stay was more homogenous across the three groups (7 days in Group 1, N=35; 7 days in Group 2, N=31; 13 days in Group 3, N=11), with a mean value of 7.87 days weighted according to the size of the three groups. According to Rampado et al.[1], DRGs in Italy are an underestimation of real costs. In fact, while the weighted mean of reimbursements is EUR 2,901, the weighted mean for cost in the same patients is EUR 6,908. This real-life information on costs can be extremely useful for conducting modeling studies that evaluate the cost effectiveness of meshes in Italian patients subjected to incisional hernia repair with synthetic or biological meshes.

References

1. Rampado S, Geron A, Pirozzolo G, Ganss A, Pizzolato E, Bardini R. Cost analysis of incisional hernia repair with synthetic mesh and biological mesh: an Italian study. Updates Surg. 2017 Sep;69(3):375-381. doi:10.1007/s13304-017-0453-9.

On 2017 Nov 28, Andrea Messori commented:

Ventral hernia surgery: economic information in a series of Italian patients

Andrea Messori, Sabrina Trippoli

HTA Unit, ESTAR Toscana, Firenze, Italy

The paper by Rampado et al. [1] is the first analysis that examines the issue of costs in Italian patients undergoing incisional hernia repair with synthetic or biological meshes. One interesting finding of this study is the analysis of DRGs and reimbursements observed in this real-life setting. Table 2 of the article by Rampado et al. [1] shows that 7 different DRGs were employed for the overall series of 76 patients divided in three groups. The amounts reimbursed according to these 7 DRGs ranged from EUR 1,704.03 to EUR 13,352.72 (mean value = EUR 2,901 weighted according to the number of patients in the three groups). The length of stay was more homogenous across the three groups (7 days in Group 1, N=35; 7 days in Group 2, N=31; 13 days in Group 3, N=11), with a mean value of 7.87 days weighted according to the size of the three groups. According to Rampado et al.[1], DRGs in Italy are an underestimation of real costs. In fact, while the weighted mean of reimbursements is EUR 2,901, the weighted mean for cost in the same patients is EUR 6,908. This real-life information on costs can be extremely useful for conducting modeling studies that evaluate the cost effectiveness of meshes in Italian patients subjected to incisional hernia repair with synthetic or biological meshes.

References

1. Rampado S, Geron A, Pirozzolo G, Ganss A, Pizzolato E, Bardini R. Cost analysis of incisional hernia repair with synthetic mesh and biological mesh: an Italian study. Updates Surg. 2017 Sep;69(3):375-381. doi:10.1007/s13304-017-0453-9.