Abstract

Background: Ankle trauma is one of the most common musculo- skeletal injuries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic expenses, the level of debility and the duration of treatment in patients with ankle trauma.

Material and methods: In this descriptive study, the necessary information was obtained from documents of 477 patients with ankle trauma who referred to emergency department of Shohadaye Tajrish, Tehran, Iran. Age, gender, the severity of trauma, the level of debility, expenses and type of insurance supply for each case were recorded.

Results: Ankle trauma was fivefold more prevalent in patients above 21 years oldwith 1.3:1 female/male ratio. According to the severity, the patients were divided into three groups of first grade, second and third grades with 407 subjects (85.32%), 48 subjects (10.06%), and 22 subjects (4.61%), respectively. 225 subjects (47.16%) required to have rest in home for 3 days, 209 persons (43.81%) need to have rest for 3-7 days and 44 persons (9.22%) need to have rest for more than one week. 334 subjects (70.03%) were under insurance coverage and the expenses were including150 - 300 USD for 254 cases (53.24%), 300–600USD for 129 cases (27.04%), and more than 600 USD for 84 cases (17.61%).

Conclusion: Our results demonstrate that ankle trauma results in remarkable debility and poses economical burden on socially active population. Owing to simple mechanism of this type of trauma, it seems to be preventable. More patient education, and immediate and careful ambulation are recommended.