Profiling Patients with Chronic Ulcers Using K-Means Clustering and Analysis of the Impact on the Consumption of Medical Resources: Retrospective Study on Hospitalized Patients in Romania

Chronic ulcers are a major public health problem, associated with increased morbidity, impairment of quality of life and significant costs for health systems. In the context of the aging population and the increase in the incidence of chronic predisposing diseases, this study aims to profile hospitalized patients with chronic ulcers in Romania and to differentiate the consumption of medical resources. A retrospective analysis was conducted based on hospitalization data collected between 2017 and 2022, including adult patients with chronic ulcer diagnoses and a minimum of two admissions. Demographic, clinical and consumption variables were analyzed, and the K-means unsupervised learning algorithm was applied for population segmentation. The results highlighted two major clusters: the first, composed of elderly patients, with multiple comorbidities and intensive consumption of resources (duration of hospitalization, readmissions), and the second, representing younger patients, with a more stable clinical profile and reduced use of resources. The complex cluster has generated a disproportionate burden on the health system. These results support the need to implement personalized care strategies and adapted allocation of resources for high-risk patients, thus contributing to the efficiency of medical services and the improvement of therapeutic outcomes.