[How much are hand injuries worth?]. / ¿Cuánto valen las lesiones de la mano?

Hand injuries are some of the most commonly treated injuries at trauma emergency services. Their treatment may be costly and even more so when inappropriate treatment results in complications. The amount paid for the treatment of this kind of injuries may increase dramatically if one considers the direct costs (medical care) and the indirect costs (compensation-loss of profits) resulting from the severity of damage and its sequelae. The objective of this paper is to reveal certain figures that help measure the economic impact that these injuries represent and find ways to optimize resources, minimize costs and improve the care of these patients.

[Costs in hand amputations derived from labor injuries]. / Costos directos e indirectos por amputaciones en mano derivadas de accidentes de trabajo.

BACKGROUND: Hand injuries by labor accidents are first rank. It is necessary to have a multidisciplinary medical approach to frequently generated temporary and permanent disabilities that affect costs to an institution and to enterprise. OBJECTIVE: To determine the direct cost (DC) and the indirect cost (IC) of complete and partial amputations in hand caused by labor injuries. METHODS: An observational study was performed. The data was obtained from labor injuries with amputation of a finger or hand that received multidisciplinary management. The costs were calculated according to the list of Institutional Unit Costs. The IC were obtained with the "safety pays" program. RESULTS: We included 48 cases. The average age was 32.17 years; the cost of surgical operations was $767,470; and the payment of a partial disability permanent was $1,032,670; the DC of the sample of 48 workers was $2,955,007 with an IC of $3,250,507 and a total cost of $6,205,515, the average cost per worker of $51,741 for DC, $56,915 for IC and $108,657 for the total cost. CONCLUSIONS: Costs of hand injures requires the creation of prevention programs.