Evaluation of treatment patterns, healthcare resource utilization and cost of illness for sickle cell disease in Ghana: a private medical insurance claims database study.

BACKGROUND: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a major public health concern in sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for nearly 75% of the global disease burden. The current analysis evaluated patient characteristics, treatment patterns, healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and associated costs in patients with SCD based on a Private Medical Insurance Database in Ghana. METHODS: This retrospective longitudinal cohort study was conducted using an e-claims database from Ghana (01 January 2015 to 31 March 2021). Patients were stratified by age (0 month to < 2 years, ≥ 2 years to ˂6 years, ≥ 6 years to < 12 years, ≥ 12 years to < 16 years; ≥16 years), vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) (< 1, ≥ 1 to < 3, and ≥ 3 per year), and continuous enrolment. Study outcomes related to patient characteristics, comorbidities, treatment pattern, HCRU were evaluated for pre- and post-index period (index period was between July 2015 to March 2020). Descriptive analysis was used to analyse different study variables. RESULTS: The study included 2,863 patients (mean age: 20.1 years; Min age: 0; Max age: 83; females 56.1%). Overall, 52.2% (n = 1,495) of SCD patients were ≥ 16 years and 17.0% (n = 486) were in the ≥ 2 to ˂6-years age group. The majority of patients aged ≥ 16 years (62.5%) in the database did not have reported VOC episodes, 35.9% of patients had 1 to 3 VOCs per year and 1.5% had ≥ 3 VOCs per year during the follow-up period. Consultation-based prevalence of SCD was 0.5% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0-1.3%] - 1.4% [CI: 0.6-2.2%]. Malaria, upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) and sepsis were the common complications of SCD. Analgesics were the most frequently prescribed medications followed by anti-infectives, hematinics, and antimalarials. Hydroxyurea, a routine standard of care for SCD was under-utilized. SCD patients had median cost incurred for consultation/hospital services of $11.3 (Interquartile range [IQR] $6.2 - $27.2). For patients with VOC, maximum median cost was incurred for medications ($10.9 [IQR $5.0-$32.6]). Overall median healthcare cost was highest for individuals with ≥ 3 VOCs per year during the follow-up period ($166.8 [IQR $70.3-$223.5]). CONCLUSION: In this retrospective private insurance claims database analysis, SCD imposes a significant healthcare burden, especially in patients with VOC. There is a need for reimbursed treatment options that could reduce the long-term burden associated with SCD and VOC.

A Retrospective Analysis of Disease Epidemiology, Comorbidity Burden, Treatment Patterns, and Healthcare Resource Utilization of Migraine in the United Arab Emirates.

INTRODUCTION: Migraine is a recurrent, disabling neurological disorder with a substantial global disease burden. However, limited real-world data are available on the patient characteristics, treatment patterns, comorbidities, and economic burden of migraine in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In this study, we evaluated the disease burden, comorbidities, treatment patterns, specialties involved in migraine diagnosis, and healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and associated costs in patients with migraine in Dubai, UAE. METHODS: A retrospective, secondary database cohort study was conducted from 01 January 2014 to 31 March 2022 using the Dubai Real-World Database. Patients aged ≥ 18 years with at least one diagnosis claim for migraine with continuous enrollment during the study period were included. Patients were stratified into treatment sub-cohorts. Outcomes were evaluated in terms of clinical characteristics, comorbidities, specialists visited, treatment patterns, and HCRU. RESULTS: The study included 203,222 patients (mean age: 40 years), with male predominance (55.4%). About 13.4% of patients had specific cardiovascular comorbidities. Frequently prescribed drug classes were nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (84.4%), triptans (29.8%), and beta-blockers (12.8%), while only 1.0% of patients with migraine were prescribed newer medications like calcitonin gene-related peptide antagonists. General medicine was the most frequently visited specialty on the index date (51.5%). The all-cause and migraine-specific median gross costs during the 12-month post-index period were US $1252.6 (2.4-564,740.7) and US $198.1 (0-168,903.3) respectively, with maximum contribution from inpatients. The contribution of migraine-specific median costs to all-cause median costs was highest for the diagnosis-related group (64.9%), followed by consumables (35.2%), medications (32.0%), procedures (24.5%), and services (24.5%). CONCLUSION: Migraine significantly impacts healthcare costs in the UAE. The role of newer therapies in migraine management should be explored to reduce the associated socioeconomic burden and improve patients' quality of life.

Lipid lowering therapy patterns and the risk of cardiovascular events in the 1-year after acute myocardial infarction in United Arab Emirates.

AIM: In United Arab Emirates, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of mortality and 22% of CVD deaths are attributable to acute myocardial infarction (MI). Adherence to guidelines for lipid management is incompletely described in the Middle East. This study aimed to characterize lipid lowering therapy (LLT) patterns and the risk of subsequent cardiovascular events (CVEs) in the first year after MI. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study using the Dubai Real-World Claims Database, including all patients discharged with MI between January 01, 2015 and December 31, 2018, followed-up until December 31, 2019. RESULTS: In the first year after MI, 8.42% of 4,595 patients included experienced at least one recurrent MI (rate 6.77 events/100 person-years [PYs]), 2.94% had one revascularization (cumulative rate 0.55 events/100 PYs) and 2.66% had one hospitalization due to unstable angina (cumulative rate 5.16 new events/100 PYs). The majority (60.40%) of the patients presented with LDL-C levels ≥ 70 mg/dL after MI. In the first year after MI, 93.45% of the patients received LLT, mainly high-intensity statin (67.79%); with a minority of patients receiving statin + ezetimibe (4.55%), PCSK9i (0.20%) or ezetimibe alone (0.07%). CONCLUSION: Patients hospitalized with MI in Dubai present an increased risk of CVEs in their first-year post-discharge. Majority of the patients presented with LDL-C levels above 70 mg/dL, which indicates suboptimal lipid control with existing LLT, particularly in high-risk patients.

Burden, Treatment Patterns and Unmet Needs of Osteoarthritis in Dubai: a Retrospective Analysis of the Dubai Real-World Claims Database.

INTRODUCTION: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease that impacts 3.3-3.6% of population globally with significant health and societal impact. The current study assessed the disease burden, treatment patterns, and healthcare resource utilisation (HCRU) and costs in patients with OA and subgroups of hip and/or knee OA, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). METHODOLOGY: This retrospective longitudinal case-control study collected OA-related data from January 1, 2014 to May 31, 2020 from the Dubai Real-World Claims Database (DRWD). Adults aged at least 18 years old with OA diagnosis and at least two claims and continuous enrolment during the study period were included in the study. The patients with OA were 1:1 matched with individuals without OA. The patients with OA were divided into four cohorts on the basis of an a priori algorithm: OA of the hip and/or knee (cohort 1) and (difficult-to-treat) subsets of patients with moderate-to-severe OA of the hip and/or knee (cohort 2), inadequate response or inability to tolerate at least three pain-related medications (cohort 3), and contraindications to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (cohort 4). RESULTS: Disease burden of OA in Dubai and HCRU and treatment costs in patients with OA were evaluated from January 1, 2014 to May 31, 2021. Patients were compared with matched controls in 1:1 ratio. The overall cohort comprised 11,651 patients with a median age of 48 years and predominantly male population (61.6%). HCRU was calculated for each cohort and it was highest (United States dollar [USD] 11,354.39) in cohort 4 (patients with contraindication to NSAIDS); in cohort 3 (inability to respond to at least three pain-related medications), USD 495.30 and USD 765.14 were spent on medication and procedures, respectively. Highest cost burden was seen in cohort 4, USD 3120.49 on consumables and USD 228.18 on services. CONCLUSION: Osteoarthritis imposes a substantial healthcare and economic burden in the UAE. The study findings elucidate the unmet need among patients with difficult-to-treat OA and inform development of new therapeutics to alleviate their burden.

Healthcare Resource Utilization and Direct Cost of Patients with Atopic Dermatitis in Dubai, United Arab Emirates: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Introduction: Atopic dermatitis (AD) data are scarce in Dubai [United Arab Emirates (UAE)]. Therefore, this study aimed at understanding real-world healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and related costs, specialties, treatment landscape, consultation-based prevalence and incidence, and patient characteristics. Methods: This retrospective, longitudinal, insurance e-claims (Dubai Private Insurance-insured expatriates) database studied AD in Dubai between 1 January 2014 and 31 March 2020. Two cohorts of patients based on treatment status as the eligibility criteria were selected from 442,956 patients with at least two AD diagnosis claims: treated AD [mild to moderate (10,134 patients) and moderate to severe (3515 patients)] and untreated or on drugs not included in the treated AD cohort (10,806 patients). Results: Across treated AD (mild to moderate and moderate to severe) and untreated AD cohorts, mean age was ~ 29 years; the majority were from dermatology (65-44%) and pediatrics (29-32%) specialty. Key HCRU cost contributors were hospitalizations and outpatient visits in both the treated AD groups. Mean annual disease-specific HCRU cost per patient was highest for the moderate-to-severe treated (531.5 USD) cohort, followed by the mild-to-moderate treated (378.4 USD) cohort, and lowest for the untreated (144.0 USD) cohort; patients with AD with any infection, asthma, or allergic rhinitis showed a similar trend. However, AD-diagnosed patients with Staphylococcus infection had the highest mean HCRU cost among the mild-to-moderate treated AD cohort, followed by the moderate-to-severe treated AD cohort. Conclusion: This study indicated AD to be a common skin disease with a prevalence rate of 4-5% in Dubai (UAE), with the majority of patients (about 90%) being treated by specialists. However, there is a significant underuse of newer innovative therapies (including biologics). Also, disease severity (moderate-to-severe AD) was associated with high direct medical cost, which could be controlled by early intervention. Furthermore, AD treatment choice could focus on major direct HCRU cost contributors such as hospitalizations, comorbid conditions, and infections. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13555-022-00769-z.

Healthcare Resource Utilization and Direct Cost of Patients with Atopic Dermatitis in Dubai, United Arab Emirates: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

INTRODUCTION: Atopic dermatitis (AD) data are scarce in Dubai [United Arab Emirates (UAE)]. Therefore, this study aimed at understanding real-world healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and related costs, specialties, treatment landscape, consultation-based prevalence and incidence, and patient characteristics. METHODS: This retrospective, longitudinal, insurance e-claims (Dubai Private Insurance-insured expatriates) database studied AD in Dubai between 1 January 2014 and 31 March 2020. Two cohorts of patients based on treatment status as the eligibility criteria were selected from 442,956 patients with at least two AD diagnosis claims: treated AD [mild to moderate (10,134 patients) and moderate to severe (3515 patients)] and untreated or on drugs not included in the treated AD cohort (10,806 patients). RESULTS: Across treated AD (mild to moderate and moderate to severe) and untreated AD cohorts, mean age was ~ 29 years; the majority were from dermatology (65-44%) and pediatrics (29-32%) specialty. Key HCRU cost contributors were hospitalizations and outpatient visits in both the treated AD groups. Mean annual disease-specific HCRU cost per patient was highest for the moderate-to-severe treated (531.5 USD) cohort, followed by the mild-to-moderate treated (378.4 USD) cohort, and lowest for the untreated (144.0 USD) cohort; patients with AD with any infection, asthma, or allergic rhinitis showed a similar trend. However, AD-diagnosed patients with Staphylococcus infection had the highest mean HCRU cost among the mild-to-moderate treated AD cohort, followed by the moderate-to-severe treated AD cohort. CONCLUSION: This study indicated AD to be a common skin disease with a prevalence rate of 4-5% in Dubai (UAE), with the majority of patients (about 90%) being treated by specialists. However, there is a significant underuse of newer innovative therapies (including biologics). Also, disease severity (moderate-to-severe AD) was associated with high direct medical cost, which could be controlled by early intervention. Furthermore, AD treatment choice could focus on major direct HCRU cost contributors such as hospitalizations, comorbid conditions, and infections.

Treatment patterns in patients with age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular edema: A real-world claims analysis in Dubai.

OBJECTIVES: To characterize the pattern of approved anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatments among patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and diabetic macular edema (DME) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). METHOD: This was a retrospective, nonrandomized, observational cohort analysis of the Dubai Real-world Claims Database with a 360-day follow-up period. Adult patients diagnosed with nAMD or DME treated with ranibizumab or aflibercept for the first time were included. The primary objective was to evaluate anti-VEGF treatment patterns with respect to the proportion of patients receiving ranibizumab and aflibercept for nAMD and DME separately. RESULTS: Of the 451 patients included in the final study cohort, 83.6% and 16.4% had a diagnosis of DME (ranibizumab: 48.5%; aflibercept: 51.5%) and nAMD (ranibizumab: 40.5%; aflibercept: 59.5%), respectively, at baseline. Treatment frequency of ranibizumab/aflibercept was similar for nAMD (mean: 2.4/2.9 injections; p = 0.2389) with fewer injections in the ranibizumab cohort for DME (mean: 1.9/2.5 injections; p = 0.0002). Most patients received ≤3 anti-VEGF injections during the 360-day follow-up period. The time between consecutive treatments was large (nAMD: 73.6 days/10.5 weeks; DME: 80.5 days/11.5 weeks). Approximately 10%-13.5% of patients switched their anti-VEGF therapy. Most patients (83.8%) had a diabetes diagnosis during the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: This real-world study provides an initial understanding of anti-VEGF treatment patterns in patients with nAMD and DME in the UAE. Treatment frequency of the 2 anti-VEGF agents assessed was similar in both patient populations. Both treatments were infrequently administered with large dosing intervals.

Patient characteristics, adherence, and costs of oral anticoagulation therapy in non-valvular atrial fibrillation using the Dubai Real-World Claims Database.

BACKGROUND: Non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) reduce the risk of stroke in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) and have better safety profile than vitamin K antagonists (VKAs). However, there is a dearth of quality, real-world, patient data on the use of these drugs to guide healthcare policies in United Arab Emirates (UAE). AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim is to address the knowledge gap in demographic and clinical profiles of NVAF patients on NOACs (apixaban, rivaroxaban, and dabigatran) and warfarin in UAE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective cohort analysis utilized the Dubai Real-World Claims Database to extract anonymized longitudinal data on NVAF patients with at least one NOAC or warfarin claim between January 2015 and March 2019. Data examined included comorbidities, healthcare resource utilization (HCRU), treatment adherence, and clinical events. RESULTS: From 11,086 NVAF patients in the database, 940 patients on oral anticoagulant treatment were selected with mean age of 58.6 ± 14.7 years and 73.7% men. At baseline, the mean CHA2DS2-VASc risk score was 2.4, and the mean Deyo-Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) score was 1.6. Most patients (71%) started oral anticoagulation treatment on a standard index dose. High medication possession ratio (MPR) and proportion of days covered (PDC) were observed in 86.8% and 43.1% of the overall cohort. The mean number of HCRU claims and cost during the 180-day follow-up period was 18.5 and 9,747 USD, respectively. Warfarin users accounted for both the highest number of claims and cost, whereas apixaban accounted for the lowest figures. Time to first major bleeding was shorter for warfarin users compared with patients on NOACs. Longer times to first stroke/systemic embolism (SE) were observed for rivaroxaban and warfarin. CONCLUSION: This study provides important comparative insights about comorbidities, adherence, HCRU, and outcome events among NOAC and warfarin users from real-world clinical practice settings.

Real-world evaluation of costs of illness for pneumonia in adult patients in Dubai-A claims database study.

BACKGROUND: Pneumonia is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among adults globally. This retrospective cohort analysis assessed the pneumonia burden and related healthcare resource utilization and costs in the at-risk (low, medium, and high-risk) adult patients in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). METHODS: The claims data from January 1, 2014 to June 30, 2019 were extracted from the Dubai Real-World Claims Database for patients, aged ≥18 year, having at least 1 pneumonia claim. Data for the inpatient, outpatient and emergency visits were assessed for 12-months, before (pre-index) and after (follow-up) a pneumonia episode. Healthcare costs were calculated based on dollar value of 2020. RESULTS: Total 48,562 records of eligible patients were analyzed (mean age = 39.9 years; low [62.1%], medium [36.2%] and high [1.7%] risk cohorts). Mean all-cause healthcare costs were approximately >45% higher in the follow-up period (1,947 USD/patient) versus pre-index period (1,327 USD/patient). During follow-up period, the mean annual pneumonia incidence rate was 1.3 episodes, with a similar pattern across all cohorts. Overall, mean claims and costs (USD) per patient (all-cause) were highest in the high-risk cohort in the follow-up period (claims: overall, 11.6; high-risk, 22.0; medium-risk, 13.9; low-risk, 9.9; costs: high-risk, 14,184; medium-risk, 2,240; low-risk, 1,388). Similarly, the mean pneumonia-related costs (USD) per patient were highest for the high-risk cohort (overall: 1,305; high-risk, 10,207; medium-risk, 1,283; low-risk, 882), however, the claims were similar across cohorts (claims/patient: overall: 2.0; high-risk, 1.9; medium-risk, 2.2; low-risk, 1.9). Most all-cause and pneumonia-related costs were due to inpatient visits (4,901 and 4,818 USD respectively), while outpatient (1,232 and 166 USD respectively) and emergency visits (347 and 206 USD respectively) contributed significantly lesser. CONCLUSIONS: Pneumonia imposes a significant healthcare burden in the UAE, especially in the high-risk patients with severe comorbidities. These findings would guide clinicians and policy makers to make informed decisions.

Citral, A Monoterpene Protect Against High Glucose Induced Oxidative Injury in HepG2 Cell In Vitro-An Experimental Study.

INTRODUCTION: Diabetes mellitus, a major metabolic disorder associated with hyperglycaemia is one of the leading cause of death in many developed countries. However, use of natural phytochemicals have been proved to have a protective effect against oxidative damage. AIM: To investigate the effect of citral, a monoterpene on high glucose induced cytotoxicity and oxidative stress in human hepatocellular liver carcinoma (Hep G2) cell line. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cells were treated with 50 mM concentration of glucose for 24 hours incubation following citral (30 µM) was added to confluent HepG2 cells. Cell viability, Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) generation, DNA damage, lipid peroxidation, antioxidants and Mitogen Activated Protein Kinases (MAPKs) signaling were assessed in citral and/or high glucose induced HepG2 cells. RESULTS: Cells treated with glucose (50 mM), resulted in increased cytotoxicity, ROS generation, DNA damage, lipid peroxidation and depletion of enzymatic and non enzymatic antioxidants. In contrast, treatment with citral (30 µM) significantly decreased cell cytotoxicity, ROS generation, DNA damage, lipid peroxidation and increased antioxidants enzymes in high glucose induced HepG2 cells. In addition, the present study highlighted that high glucose treated cells showed increased expression of Extracellular Signal Regulated Protein Kinase-1 (ERK-1), c-Jun N-terminal Kinase (JNK) and p38 in HepG2 cells. On the other hand treatment with citral significantly suppressed the expression of ERK-1, JNK and p38 in high glucose induced HepG2 cells. CONCLUSION: Citral protects against high glucose induced oxidative stress through inhibiting ROS activated MAPK signaling pathway in HepG2 cells.

Combined n-benzoyl-d-phenylalanine and metformin treatment reverses changes in the fatty acid composition of streptozotocin diabetic rats.

The present investigation was carried out to evaluate the effect of N-benzoyl-D-phenylalanine (NBDP) and metformin on blood glucose, plasma insulin, and on the fatty acid composition of total lipids in the livers and kidneys of control and experimental diabetic rats. When compared with nondiabetic control rats, neonatal streptozotocin (nSTZ) diabetic rats showed a significant increase in blood glucose and decreased plasma insulin. Analysis of fatty acids revealed a significant increase in the concentration of palmitic, stearic, and oleic acids in liver and kidney, whereas linolenic and arachidonic acids were significantly decreased. In diabetic rats, the oral administration of combined NBDP/metformin for 6 wk decreased the high concentrations of palmitic, stearic, and oleic acids and elevated the low levels of linolenic and arachidonic acids. The results suggest that the NBDP/metformin combination exhibits both antidiabetic and antihyperlipidemic effects in nSTZ diabetic rats and prevents the fatty acid changes produced during diabetes.