the cost of emergency hospital admissions for falls on snow and ice in england during winter 200910 a cross sectional analysis的紧急住院成本落在雪和冰在英格兰在200910年冬天的一个横截面分析.pdfVIP

Beynon et al. Environmental Health 2011, 10:60 /content/10/1/60 RESEARCH Open Access The cost of emergency hospital admissions for falls on snow and ice in England during winter 2009/10: a cross sectional analysis * Caryl Beynon , Sacha Wyke, Ian Jarman, Mark Robinson, Jenny Mason, Karen Murphy, Mark A Bellis and Clare Perkins Abstract Background: In the UK, the 2009/10 winter was characterised by sustained low temperatures; grit stocks became depleted and surfaces left untreated. We describe the relationship between temperature and emergency hospital admissions for falls on snow and ice in England, identify the age and gender of those most likely to be admitted, and estimate the inpatient costs of these admissions during the 2009/10 winter. Methods: Hospital Episode Statistics were used to identify episodes of emergency admissions for falls on snow and ice during winters 2005/06 to 2009/10; these were plotted against mean winter temperature. By region, the logs of the rates of weekly emergency admissions for falls on snow and ice were plotted against the mean weekly temperature for winters 2005/06 to 2009/10 and a linear regression analysis undertaken. For the 2009/10 winter the number of emergency hospital admissions for falls on snow and ice were plotted by age and gender. The inpatient costs of admissions in the 2009/10 winter for falls on snow and ice were calculated using Healthcare Resource Group costs and Admitted Patient Care 2009/10 National Tariff Information. Results: The number of emergency hospital admissions due to falls on snow and ice varied considerably across years; the number was 18 times greater in 2009/10 (N = 16,064) than in 2007/08 (N = 890). There is an exponential increase [Ln(rate of admissions) = 0.456 - 0.463*(mean weekly temperature)] in the rate of emergency h