Construction and cost-benefit analysis of a nurse-led management model for chronic wounds in vascular surgery based on the concept of integrated care.

OBJECTIVE

To establish a nurse-led chronic wound management model for vascular surgery under the concept of integrated care, and to evaluate its impact on wound healing, medical costs, and cost-effectiveness ratio.

METHODS

363 patients with chronic wounds were randomly divided into the control group (conventional management model, n = 180) and the observation group (nurse-led full-process management under integrated care concept, n = 183) from January 2024 to December 2025. The wound healing rate, healing time, pain score, infection rate, recurrence rate within 6 months, nursing satisfaction, medical costs, and cost-effectiveness ratio (CER) were compared between two groups.

RESULTS

The wound healing rate of the observation group (92.35%) was significantly higher than that of the control group (72.22%), and the healing time was significantly shorter (P < 0.05). The VAS pain score (2.01 ± 0.76), wound infection rate (3.28%), and 6-month recurrence rate (3.28%) in the observation group were all significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Nursing satisfaction in the observation group (95.63%) was higher than that in the control group (78.89%). The average total medical cost per person in the observation group (CNY 6128.50 ± 819.40) was lower than that in the control group (CNY 8457.30 ± 962.80), and the cost-effectiveness ratio (66.37) was superior to that of the control group (117.11) (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The integrated care concept-based, nurse-led chronic wound management model for vascular surgery effectively improved healing efficiency, enhanced clinical outcomes, reduced complication risks, and alleviated the medical economic burden, which warrants it to be a promotable approach for standardized management of chronic wounds.