Table 2 Demographics, Operative and Hospitalization Features, and Treatment Cost of the Emergency Hernioplasties before and during the economic crisis
Period/Parameter | 2005–2009 (n = 195) | 2012–2016 (n = 241) | p-value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gender | |||||
 Male | 188 (96.4%) | 227 (94.2%) |  | ||
 Female | 7 (3.6%) | 14 (5.8%) | NS | ||
Age (years) | |||||
 (Mean ± SD) | 71,1 ± 15,1 | 66,7 ± 14,7 | 0.04 | ||
Age (Distribution by decade) | |||||
 < 35 | 0 | 0% | 5 | 2.1% |  |
 35–44 | 9 | 4.6% | 9 | 3.7% |  |
 45–54 | 27 | 13.8% | 39 | 16.2% |  |
 55–64 | 29 | 14.9% | 38 | 15.8% |  |
 65–74 | 36 | 18.5% | 62 | 11.5% |  |
 75–84 | 51 | 26.2% | 57 | 23.7% |  |
 ≥85 | 43 | 22.1% | 31 | 12.7% | NS |
Age | |||||
 < 75 years | 101 (51.8%) | 153 (63.5%) |  | ||
 ≥ 75 years | 94 (48.2%) | 88 (36.5%) | 0.013 | ||
Nationality | |||||
 Greek | 188 (96.4%) | 227 (94.2%) |  | ||
 Other | 7 (3.5%) | 14 (5.8%) | NS | ||
Type of anaesthesia | |||||
 General endotracheal | 112 (57.4%) | 132 (54.8%) |  | ||
 Epidural | 83 (42.6%) | 109 (45.2%) |  | ||
Cases with bowel ischemia (% of emergency operations) | 7 (3.6%) | 18 (7.5%) | 0.002 | ||
Intestinal resection (% of cases with ischemia) | 3 (43%) | 7 (39%) | NS | ||
Mortality in cases of intestinal resection | 0 | 1 | NA | ||
No of pts. who needed ICU | 0 | 4 (1.7%) | NA | ||
LOHSa in cases with ischemia (days) (Mean) | 5.2 | 9.6 | 0.04 | ||
LOHS in cases of intestinal resection (days) (Mean) | 7 | 11.2 | NS | ||
Average cost in cases with ischemia (€) (Mean ± SD) | 560 ± 262.4 | 2125 ± 1180.8 | < 0.001 | ||
Average cost in cases with resection (€) (Mean ± SD) | 848 ± 199.6 | 2536 ± 1339.4 | NS | ||