The health economics of the treatment of long-bone non-unions

SummaryA review of the existing evidence on economic costs of treatment of long-bone fracture non-unions has retrieved 9 papers. Mostly the tibial shaft non-unions have been utilised as models for these economic analyses. Novel treatment strategies like BMP-7 grafting, Ilizarov ring external fixation or supplementary use of therapeutic ultrasound devices have been compared with standard methods of treatment focusing on direct and indirect costs and expenses.A cost-identification query was conducted and revealed costs of £15,566, £17,200 and £16,330 for humeral, femoral, and tibial non-unions respectively on a “best-case scenario”. The existing scientific evidence can only imply the extent of the economic burden of long-bone non-unions. Further systematic studies are needed to assess the direct medical, direct non-medical, indirect, and monetised quality of life and psychosocial costs of non-unions.