Table 2.
Average per-person 1-year number and associated value of lost work days due to non-fatal injuries (by body region) initially treated in an emergency department during 1 October 2014 to 30 September 2015, employer health insurance enrollees age 18–64 years, MarketScan
| Body region | Body region | Measure | Workplace absence | Short-term disability | Workers' compensation | Total days and cost* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head and neck | Traumatic brain injury | Absent days, n | 7.6 (3.3–11.9) | 12.2 (9.2–15.2) | 19.8 (15.8–23.5) | |
| Estimated cost | US$1066 (464–1668) | US$1721 (1299–2141) | US$2787 (2227–3304) | |||
| Other head, face and neck | Absent days, n | 3.2 (2.6–3.8) | 0.8 (0.4–1.3) | 4.0 (3.5—4.6) | ||
| Estimated cost | US$450 (370–530) | US$117 (56–177) | US$567 (487–643) | |||
| Head and neck, total | Absent days, n | 1.9 (0.6–3.1) | 4.4 (3.8–5.0) | 0.8 (0.4–1.2) | 7.0 (6.0–8.1) | |
| Estimated cost | US$262 (89–434) | US$619 (531–706) | US$107 (52–162) | US$987 (841–1134) | ||
| Spine and back | Spinal cord | Absent days, n | ||||
| Estimated cost | ||||||
| Vertebral column | Absent days, n | 5.4 (3.6–7.2) | 8.4 (7.4–9.4) | 2.3 (1.5–3.2) | 16.1 (14.6–17.7) | |
| Estimated cost | US$754 (503–1005) | US$1184 (1046–1320) | US$328 (210–444) | US$2265 (2053–2491) | ||
| Spine and back, total | Absent days, n | 5.4 (3.6–7.2) | 8.5 (7.5–9.5) | 2.3 (1.5–3.2) | 16.2 (14.5–17.7) | |
| Estimated cost | US$754 (503–1005) | US$1195 (1057–1333) | US$326 (210–444) | US$2275 (2045–2487) | ||
| Torso | Torso | Absent days, n | 3.7 (1.7–5.6) | 7.9 (6.8–9.1) | 0.9 (0.3–1.5) | 12.5 (10.8–14.2) |
| Estimated cost | US$513 (242–783) | US$1115 (952–1278) | US$131 (48–215) | US$1759 (1513–1992) | ||
| Extremities | Upper extremities | Absent days, n | 3.1 (2.1–4.0) | 6.2 (5.7–6.6) | 1.1 (0.8–1.4) | 10.3 (9.5–11.1) |
| Estimated cost | US$429 (301–557) | US$865 (799–931) | US$155 (108–201) | US$1448 (1342–1557) | ||
| Lower extremities | Absent days, n | 4.6 (3.5—5.8) | 8.6 (8.0–9.2) | 1.0 (0.6–1.3) | 14.2 (13.3–15.2) | |
| Estimated cost | US$652 (491–814) | US$1208 (1122–1294) | US$138 (89–187) | US$1998 (1864–2132) | ||
| Torso, total | Absent days, n | 3.7 (3.0–4.5) | 7.2 (6.9–7.6) | 1.0 (0.8–1.3) | 12.0 (11.4–12.6) | |
| Estimated cost | US$524 (425–626) | US$1018 (965–1071) | US$145 (111–177) | US$1687 (1598–1771) | ||
| Unclassifiable by site | Other or multiple | Absent days, n | 4.1 (1.0–7.3) | 6.3 (4.4–8.2) | 1.6 (0.2–3.0) | 12.0 (9.2–14.7) |
| Estimated cost | US$581 (142–1019) | US$887 (624–1150) | US$224 (28–419) | US$1691 (1288–2071) | ||
| System-wide | Absent days, n | 3.8 (1.4–6.2) | 2.9 (2.0–3.8) | 1.2 (0.2–2.2) | 7.9 (5.9–9.8) | |
| Estimated cost | US$531 (194–869) | US$405 (284–527) | US$172 (30–314) | US$1108 (831–1384) | ||
| Unclassifiable by site, total | Absent days, n | 3.9 (2.0–5.8) | 4.1 (3.2–4.9) | 1.4 (0.5–2.3) | 9.4 (7.8–11.1) | |
| Estimated cost | US$551 (284–817) | US$571 (451–690) | US$202 (76–329) | US$1324 (1090–1567) | ||
| Total† | All body regions | Absent days, n | 3.6 (3.1–4.1) | 6.6 (6.3–6.9) | 1.1 (0.9–1.3) | 11.3 (10.8–11.7) |
| Estimated cost | US$506 (430–582) | US$927 (887–966) | US$155 (128–180) | US$1587 (1520–1650) |
All costs are 2015 USD. Values are mean (95% CI or prediction interval (PI)—in the case that multiple estimates by absence type were probabilistically combined). Blank cells indicate results were not calculated for the injury type due to (1) low number of observations (<50 injury or control enrollees with >0 absences) in the data source, or (2) the regression-adjusted attributable number of lost work days due to the injury type was not statistically significantly higher among injured patients compared with control enrollees. Number of injury patients and controls, average absence days by type, and the simple mean difference between injury and control enrollees demonstrated in online supplementary table 1. Source data: MarketScan Health and Productivity Management dataset, 2014–2016. Injury classification is based on the ICD-9-CM Barrell Matrix (www.cdc.gov/nchs/injury/injury_tools.htm).
Variance for ‘Total’ days estimates was based on a probabilistic combination of variance for multiple absence type value estimates (eg, workplace absence+short-term disability absence estimates for traumatic brain injuries) using Excel Palisade @RISK (Ithaca, NY). For those calculations, 1000 sums drawn from Pert distributions representing each absence type—with mean (95% CI) estimates of absent days by type included as the distributions’ most likely, minimum and maximum values—were computed, and the middle 95% of resulting values comprise the reported PI range. Total cost was assessed as the mean number of days and 95% PI values multiplied by the estimated value of lost work days as described in the Methods text (US$141).
‘Total’ category models controlled for body region.