Burden of Comorbidities and Healthcare Resource Utilization Among Medicaid-Enrolled Extremely Premature Infants.

Background: The effect of gestational age (GA) on comorbidity prevalence, healthcare resource utilization (HCRU), and all-cause costs is significant for extremely premature (EP) infants in the United States. Objectives: To characterize real-world patient characteristics, prevalence of comorbidities, rates of HCRU, and direct healthcare charges and societal costs among premature infants in US Medicaid programs, with respect to GA and the presence of respiratory comorbidities. Methods: Using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth/Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification codes, diagnosis and medical claims data from 6 state Medicaid databases (1997-2018) of infants born at less than 37 weeks of GA (wGA) were collected retrospectively. Data from the index date (birth) up to 2 years corrected age or death, stratified by GA (EP, ≤28 wGA; very premature [VP], >28 to <32 wGA; and moderate to late premature [M-LP], ≥32 to <37 wGA), were compared using unadjusted and adjusted generalized linear models. Results: Among 25 573 premature infants (46.1% female; 4462 [17.4%] EP; 2904 [11.4%] VP; 18 207 [71.2%] M-LP), comorbidity prevalence, HCRU, and all-cause costs increased with decreasing GA and were highest for EP. Total healthcare charges, excluding index hospitalization and all-cause societal costs (US dollars), were 2 to 3 times higher for EP than for M-LP (EP $74 436 vs M-LP $27 541 and EP $28 504 vs M-LP $15 892, respectively). Conclusions: Complications of preterm birth, including prevalence of comorbidities, HCRU, and costs, increased with decreasing GA and were highest among EP infants during the first 2 years in this US analysis.

Long-term burden of respiratory complications associated with extreme prematurity: An analysis of US Medicaid claims.

BACKGROUND: Infants born extremely premature (EP) (<28 weeks gestational age) are at high risk of complications, particularly bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), which can develop into chronic lung disease (CLD). METHODS: The burden of respiratory complications in EP infants up to 2 years corrected age (CA) was evaluated using real-world data from the US Medicaid program. Data recorded between 1997 and 2018 on EP infants without major congenital malformations were collected from Medicaid records of six states. EP infants were divided into three cohorts: BPD, CLD, and without BPD or CLD. The incidence of respiratory conditions, respiratory medication use, and healthcare resource utilization were compared between the BPD cohort and CLD cohort versus the cohort without BPD or CLD, using unadjusted and adjusted generalized linear models. RESULTS: A total of 4462 EP infants were identified (17.4% of all premature infants in the database). Of these, BPD and CLD were diagnosed in 61.9% and 72.1%, respectively, and 14.5% were diagnosed with neither BPD nor CLD. Compared with infants without BPD or CLD, infants with BPD or CLD had more complications and a longer length of birth hospitalization stay. Respiratory distress syndrome was the most frequently reported complication (94.6%, 92.5%, and 82.3% of EP infants in the BPD, CLD, and without BPD or CLD cohorts, respectively). After the birth hospitalization, respiratory conditions, respiratory medication use, and incidence rates of rehospitalizations, emergency room visits, and outpatient visits were higher for infants with BPD or CLD. Rehospitalization occurred in 50.5%, 51.6%, and 27.3% of EP infants with BPD, CLD, or without BPD or CLD, respectively; most hospitalizations occurred for respiratory-related reasons. CONCLUSION: In this analysis of a large population of EP infants up to 2 years CA, respiratory conditions were prevalent after the birth hospitalization and were associated with high rates of medication and healthcare resource utilization.

Real-world and natural history data for drug evaluation in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: suitability of the North Star Ambulatory Assessment for comparisons with external controls.

Using external controls based on real-world or natural history data (RWD/NHD) for drug evaluations in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is appealing given the challenges of enrolling placebo-controlled trials, especially for multi-year trials. Comparisons to external controls, however, face risks of bias due to differences in outcomes between trial and RWD/NHD settings. To assess this bias empirically, we conducted a multi-institution study comparing mean 48-week changes in North Star Ambulatory Assessment (NSAA) total score between trial placebo arms and RWD/NHD sources, with and without adjustment for baseline prognostic factors. Analyses used data from three placebo arms (235 48-week intervals, N = 235 patients) and three RWD/NHD sources (348 intervals, N = 202 patients). Differences in mean ΔNSAA between placebo arms and RWD/NHD sources were small before adjustment (-1.2 units, 95% CI: [-2.0 -0.5]) and were attenuated and no longer statistically significant after adjustment (0.1 units (95% CI: [-0.6, 0.8]). Results were similar whether adjusting using multivariable regression or propensity score matching. This consistency in ΔNSAA between trial placebo arms and RWD/NHD sources accords with prior findings for the six-minute walk distance, provides a well-validated framework for baseline adjustment of prognostic factors, and supports the suitability of RWD/NHD external controls for drug evaluations in ambulatory DMD.