Economic Consequences of the Overuse of Short-Acting ß-Adrenergic Agonists in the Treatment of Asthma in Spain.
J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol
; 33(2): 109-118, 2023 Apr 18.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34825651
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:
To determine the relationship between short-acting ß-adrenergic agonist (SABA) overuse and health care resource use and costs in asthma patients in routine clinical practice.METHODS:
A longitudinal retrospective study was conducted in Spanish primary and specialized care centers using the BIG-PAC medical records database. The study population comprised asthma patients ≥12 years of age who attended ≥2 consultations during 2017 and had 1-year follow-up data available. The main outcomes were demographics, comorbidities, medication, and clinical and health care resource use and costs. The relationship between SABA overuse and health care costs and between asthma severity and health care costs was determined.RESULTS:
The SABA use IN Asthma (SABINA) study included 39 555 patients, with a mean (SD) age of 49.8 (20.7) years (64.2% female). The Charlson comorbidity index was 0.7 (1.0). SABA overuse (≥3 canisters/y) was 28.7% (95%CI, 27.7-29.7), with a mean of 3.3 (3.6) canisters/y. Overall, 5.1% of patients were prescribed ≥12 canisters/y. SABA overuse was correlated with health care costs (ρ=0.621; P<.001). The adjusted mean annual cost/patient according to the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA 2019) classification of asthma severity was 2231, 2345, 2735, 3473, and 4243 for steps 1-5, respectively (P<.001). Regardless of asthma severity, SABA overuse yielded a significant increase in health care costs per patient and year (5702 vs 1917, P<.001) compared with recommended use (<2 canisters/y).CONCLUSION:
SABA overuse yields high costs for the Spanish National Health System. Costs increased with severity of asthma.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Asthma
/
Anti-Asthmatic Agents
Type of study:
Health_economic_evaluation
/
Observational_studies
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
En
Journal:
J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol
Journal subject:
ALERGIA E IMUNOLOGIA
Year:
2023
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Spain