A Viinanen1,2, M I Lassenius3, I Toppila3, A Karlsson4,5, L Veijalainen6, J J Idänpään-Heikkilä6, T Laitinen1,2,7. 1. Division of Medicine, Department of Pulmonary Diseases, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland. 2. Department of Pulmonary Diseases and Clinical Allergology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland. 3. Medaffcon Oy, Espoo, Finland. 4. Auria Biobank, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland. 5. University of Turku, Turku, Finland. 6. GSK, Espoo, Finland. 7. Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland.
Abstract
Objective: To describe health care resource utilization (HCRU) and associated costs in adult patients referred for specialist asthma care in Southwest Finland, by disease severity and blood eosinophil count (BEC). Methods: This non-interventional, retrospective registry study (GSK ID: HO-17-17558) utilized data from patients >18 years of age on the hospital register of the Hospital District of Southwest Finland. Data extraction was from January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2015; the index date was the first hospital visit within this period with an International Classification of Diseases-10 diagnosis code for asthma or acute severe asthma. Patients were categorized by asthma severity (based on medication use) and BEC (<300 or ≥300 cells/μL). Total and asthma-related HCRU and estimated costs were recorded the year following index and for calendar years 2004-2015. Results: Overall, 14,398 patients were included; 388 had severe asthma at index. BEC was available for 3781 patients; 1434 had a BEC ≥300 cells/μL and 2347 had a BEC <300 cells/μL. A total of 1241 patients had severe asthma; 270 patients had severe eosinophilic asthma (severe asthma and a BEC ≥300 cells/μL). Patients with severe versus non-severe asthma had higher total- and asthma-related outpatient visits, inpatient days, emergency room visits and costs per patient year; those with BEC ≥300 cells/μL versus <300 cells/μL had more outpatient visits. All recorded HCRU and associated costs were highest in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma. Conclusion: This study demonstrated a substantial burden associated with severe and/or eosinophilic asthma for adults in Finland.
Objective: To describe health care resource utilization (HCRU) and associated costs in adult patients referred for specialist asthma care in Southwest Finland, by disease severity and blood eosinophil count (BEC). Methods: This non-interventional, retrospective registry study (GSK ID: HO-17-17558) utilized data from patients >18 years of age on the hospital register of the Hospital District of Southwest Finland. Data extraction was from January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2015; the index date was the first hospital visit within this period with an International Classification of Diseases-10 diagnosis code for asthma or acute severe asthma. Patients were categorized by asthma severity (based on medication use) and BEC (<300 or ≥300 cells/μL). Total and asthma-related HCRU and estimated costs were recorded the year following index and for calendar years 2004-2015. Results: Overall, 14,398 patients were included; 388 had severe asthma at index. BEC was available for 3781 patients; 1434 had a BEC ≥300 cells/μL and 2347 had a BEC <300 cells/μL. A total of 1241 patients had severe asthma; 270 patients had severe eosinophilic asthma (severe asthma and a BEC ≥300 cells/μL). Patients with severe versus non-severe asthma had higher total- and asthma-related outpatient visits, inpatient days, emergency room visits and costs per patient year; those with BEC ≥300 cells/μL versus <300 cells/μL had more outpatient visits. All recorded HCRU and associated costs were highest in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma. Conclusion: This study demonstrated a substantial burden associated with severe and/or eosinophilic asthma for adults in Finland.
Entities:
Keywords:
Severe asthma; health care costs; health care resource utilization; mortality; severe eosinophilic asthma
Authors: Christer Janson; Leif Bjermer; Lauri Lehtimäki; Hannu Kankaanranta; Jussi Karjalainen; Alan Altraja; Valentyna Yasinska; Bernt Aarli; Madeleine Rådinger; Johan Hellgren; Magnus Lofdahl; Peter H Howarth; Celeste Porsbjerg Journal: Eur Clin Respir J Date: 2022-03-02