Inpatient burden, costs, and characteristics of peripheral artery disease in Slovenia : research data from the project

Furlan, Tjaša (author), Jug, Borut (author), Farkaš-Lainščak, Jerneja (author), Gavrić, Dalibor (author), Ograjenšek, Irena (author), Došenović Bonča, Petra (author)

Aims: We assessed inpatient burden, costs, demographics, co-morbidity patterns, and outcomes of peripheral artery disease (PAD) in Slovenia. Methods: We included patients hospitalised for PAD (primary diagnosis international classification of disease, tenth revision code I70.2–I70.9) in Slovenia between January 1st, 2015, and December 31st, 2022. We estimated crude and age-standardised hospitalisation rates, hospitalisation reimbursement costs, patient characteristics (age and sex distribution, disease severity and prevalence of co-morbidities), uptake of revascularisation, major amputations and in-hospital mortality. Results: We included 15,978 patients (60% men, median age 72 years, 32% chronic limb-threatening ischemia) with 27,139 hospital episodes yielding a mean of ~3,400 hospitalisations per year (hospitalisation rate 161 per 100,000/year). Median direct cost (inflation-adjusted to 2025) per hospital episode was €3,177, yielding total costs of €10.8 million/year. The most common co-morbidities were arterial hypertension (35%), dyslipidemia (21%) and diabetes mellitus (19%), with a significantly higher prevalence in patients with chronic limb-threatening ischaemia. During the observation period, revascularisation procedures increased from 77.5% to 80.2%, while major amputations decreased from 13.2% to 7.9% and mortality decreased from 5.0% to 3.3%. Conclusion: The inpatient burden of PAD is considerable in Slovenia. Patients hospitalised for PAD have a high burden of co-morbidities, especially when presenting with chronic limb-threatening ischaemia; nonetheless, in-hospital major amputations and mortality decreased substantially over the last decade.

• Language: English
• Keywords: peripheral artery disease, chronic limb-threatening ischemia, intermittent claudication, hospitalisation, mortality
• Typology: 2.20 - Complete scientific database of research data
• Geographic coverage: Vse slovenske bolnišnice
• Time coverage: 2015-2022
• Organization: MF - Faculty of Medicine
• Year: 2026
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-179917
• Data col. methods: Aggregation
• Publication date in RUL: 01.03.2026

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 26.02.2026

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Hospitalno breme, stroški in značilnosti periferne arterijske bolezni v Sloveniji : raziskovalni podatki projekta

Abstract

Namen: Ocenili smo stopnjo hospitalizacij, direktne stroške, značilnosti bolnikov in breme sočasnih bolezni ter bolnišnične izide zaradi periferne arterijske bolezni (PAB) v Sloveniji. Metode: V analizo smo vključili bolnike, hospitalizirane zaradi PAB (glavna diagnoza I70.2–I70.9 po Mednarodni klasifikaciji bolezni, 10. izdaja) v Sloveniji med 1. januarjem 2015 in 31. decembrom 2022. Ocenili smo stopnjo hospitalizacij, direktne stroške, značilnosti bolnikov (starost, spol, izraženost bolezni in sočasne bolezni) ter delež revaskularizacij, velikih amputacij uda in bolnišničo umrljivost. Rezultati: Vključili smo 15.978 bolnikov (60 % moških, mediana starost 72 let; 32 % s kronično kritično ishemijo uda) s 27.139 hospitalizacijami, kar predstavlja povprečno ~3.400 hospitalizacij/leto (stopnja hospitalizacij 161,4 na 100.000 prebivalcev/leto). Mediani direktni stroški (prilagojeni za inflacijo do 2025) so bili 3.177€ za hospitalno epizodo oziorma 10,8 milijonov €/leto. Najpogostejše sočasne bolezni so bile arterijska hipertenzija (35 %), dislipidemija (21 %) in sladkorna bolezen (19 %); statistično značilno so bile pogostejše pri bolnikih s kronično kritično ishemijo uda. V opazovanem obdobju je delež revaskularizacij narasel s 77,5 na 80,2 %, medtem ko je delež velikih amputacij upadel s 13,2 na 7,9 %, umrljovost pa s 5,0 na 3,3 %. Zaključek: Breme hospitalizacij zaradi PAB je v Sloveniji precejšnje. Hospitalizirani bolniki s PAB imajo veliko breme sočasnih bolezni, zlasti ko gre za kronično kritično ishemijo uda. Kljub temu so velike amputacije in bolnišnična umrljivost pri bolnikih s PAB v zadnjem desetletju znatno upadle.

• Keywords: periferna arterijska bolezen, kronična kritična ishemija, intermitentna klavdikacija, hospitalizacija, umrljivost

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: V3-24038
• Name: Strokovna izhodišča in priporočila za oblikovanje državnega programa obvladovanja bolezni srca in ožilja v Sloveniji

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P5-0117
• Name: Trajnostna konkurenčnost slovenskega gospodarstva v evropskem in globalnem okviru