Divisions of Injury Prevention.
Overdose Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC, Atlanta, GA.
Med Care. 2021 May 1;59(5):451-455. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000001511.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious public health problem in the United States. Each year, TBIs substantially contribute to health care costs, which vary by severity. This is important to consider given the variability in recovery time by severity.
This study quantifies the annual incremental health care costs of nonfatal TBI in 2016 for the US population covered by a private health insurance, Medicaid, or Medicare health plan. This study uses MarketScan and defines severity with the abbreviated injury scale for the head and neck region. Nonfatal health care costs were compared by severity.
The estimated 2016 overall health care cost attributable to nonfatal TBI among MarketScan enrollees was $40.6 billion. Total estimated annual health care cost attributable to TBI for low severity TBIs during the first year postinjury were substantially higher than costs for middle and high severity TBIs among those with private health insurance and Medicaid.
This study presents economic burden estimates for TBI that underscore the importance of developing strategies to prevent TBIs, regardless of severity. Although middle and high severity TBIs were more costly at the individual level, low severity TBIs, and head injuries diagnosed as "head injury unspecified" resulted in higher total estimated annual health care costs attributable to TBI.
在美国，创伤性脑损伤（TBI）是一个严重的公共卫生问题。每年，TBI 都会大大增加医疗保健成本，而成本的高低取决于严重程度。鉴于严重程度不同，恢复时间也不同，这一点很重要。
本研究量化了 2016 年美国私人医疗保险、医疗补助或医疗保险计划覆盖人群中非致命性 TBI 的年度增量医疗保健成本。本研究使用 MarketScan 并使用头颈部简化损伤量表来定义严重程度。按严重程度比较非致命性医疗保健成本。
估计 MarketScan 参保者 2016 年非致命性 TBI 的总医疗保健费用为 406 亿美元。对于私人医疗保险和医疗补助的患者，在受伤后第一年，低严重程度 TBI 的总年度医疗保健费用归因于 TBI 的估计值明显高于中高严重程度 TBI 的费用。
本研究提出了 TBI 的经济负担估计，强调了无论严重程度如何，制定预防 TBI 策略的重要性。尽管中重度 TBI 在个体层面上的成本更高，但轻度 TBI 和被诊断为“头部损伤未特指”的头部损伤导致 TBI 的总年度医疗保健费用归因更高。
