Trial reportBMJ open2022
Health service costs of treating venous leg ulcers in the UK: evidence from a cross-sectional survey based in the north west of England.
Trial report in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 0 citations in OpenAlex.
- Automated devices for identifying peripheral arterial disease in people with leg ulceration: an evidence synthesis and cost-effectiveness analysis.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2024Pooled it
- Compression for preventing recurrence of venous ulcers.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Prevalence and incidence of venous leg ulcers-A systematic review and meta-analysis.International wound journal · 2023Pooled it
- Stem Cell-Based and Stem Cell-Related Regenerative Therapies for Pure Venous Ulcers: A Systematic Review.Wound repair and regeneration : official publication of the Wound Healing Society [and] the European Tissue Repair SocietyPooled it
- Independent Prognostic Factors for Predicting Wound Healing in People With Venous Leg Ulcers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Wound repair and regeneration : official publication of the Wound Healing Society [and] the European Tissue Repair SocietyPooled it
- CEAP-guided and Kistner-refined selection of deep venous intervention for primary lower-limb venous valvular incompetence: A two-center cohort study.Journal of vascular surgery. Venous and lymphatic disorders · 2026Article
- Transforming Inpatient Venous Leg Ulcer Management Through Early Specialist Tissue Viability Intervention.International wound journal · 2026Article
- Compression systems for venous leg ulcers: a network meta-analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis.EClinicalMedicine · 2026Article
- Prevalence of wounds and patient characteristics in an Australian community setting: a retrospective cohort study.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Jet Cold Plasma at Atmospheric Air Pressure for Venous Ulcers: A Randomized Clinical Trial.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2026Article
- Barriers to and enablers of prophylactic compression use by people at risk of venous leg ulcer recurrence: a qualitative study.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Patient-reported outcomes in venous leg ulcers: results from a prospective multicenter single-arm cohort study of silicone superabsorbent polymer dressings.Patient related outcome measures · 2026Article
- Synergistic effect of octenidine gel and hydrogel dressing in the treatment of venous leg ulcers.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- The financial burden of chronic wounds in primary care: A real-world data analysis on cost and prevalence.International journal of nursing studies advances · 2025Article
- A survey of NHS nurses' delivery of treatments to prevent recurrence of venous leg ulcers.International wound journal · 2025Article
- Article
- "Negotiating a new normality" - a longitudinal qualitative exploration of the meaning of living with an open surgical wound.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo estimate and examine the direct healthcare costs of treating people with open venous leg ulcers in the UK.
designCost-of-illness study.
settingA cross-sectional survey of nine National Health Service community locales over 2-week periods in 2015/2016.
methodsWe examined the resource use and prevalence of venous leg ulcer treatment in the community. Examination of variation in these obtained costs was performed by ordinary least squares regression. We used additional resource use information from a randomised control trial and extrapolated costs to the UK for an annual period.
resultsThe average 2-week per person cost of treating patients where a venous leg ulceration was the primary (most severe) wound was estimated at £166.39 (95% CI £157.78 to £175.00) with community staff time making up over half of this amount. Costs were higher where antimicrobial dressings were used and where wound care was delivered in the home. Among those with any recorded venous leg ulcer (primary and non-primary), we derived a point prevalence of 3.2 per 10 000 population and estimated that the annual prevalence could be no greater than 82.4 per 10 000 population. We estimated that the national cost of treating a venous leg ulcer was £102 million with a per person annual cost at £4787.70.
conclusionOur point prevalence figures are in line with the literature. However, our annual prevalence estimations and costs are far lower than those reported in recent literature which suggests that the costs of treating venous leg ulcers are lower than previously thought. Movement towards routinely collected and useable community care activity would help provide a transparent and deeper understanding of the scale and cost of wound care in the UK.
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