OBJECTIVE: to assess the direct cost of surgical treatment of femoral fracture resulting from falls during the hospitalization and surgery up to two months after injury. METHODS: cross-sectional, descriptive and retrospective study conducted in patients of both sexes, aged 60 years or older, from January 2008 to June 2009. Data were extracted from hospital bills of an agreement accredited to private hospital network in the city of Brasilia. RESULTS: the frequency of femoral fracture for females was 76.2%(n=16) and 23.8%(n=5) for males. The average hospital stay for surgery was 7.1 days and 2.7 days in ICU. There were 16 patients with femoral fractures. The average expenditures for surgery was R$ 39.160,74 resulting from the all R$ 626,572.06. The direct cost of hospitalization was between R$ 8.293.55 and R$ 139,837.50, but the hospital medical resources used in the postoperative period accounted for 5.7% of the direct cost of hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: the cost per femoral fracture surgery is significant to the Brazilian private health system and females are more vulnerable than males. The highest costs were with the prosthesis, material and medicines, and they varied according to the type of surgery, hospital stay and age.
Health of the Elderly; Private Sector; Surgery Department Hospital Costs and cost analysis; Femoral fractures; Accidental falls; Health services for the elderly
