Augustina Ogbonnaya

Economic consequences of ACS-related rehospitalizations in the US

Abstract Objective: To examine economic consequences related to rehospitalization following initial acute coronary syndrome (ACS) treatment in United States managed care settings. Study design: Retrospective observational studies. Research design and methods: Retrospective observational studies were conducted on two managed care populations to examine medical encounter insurance claims and charges for ACS-related rehospitalizations following an index hospitalization for new onset ACS (2002–2007). All charges were adjusted to year 2007 United States Dollars (USDs). Main outcome measures: The main outcomes for this study were the direct charges related to ACS rehospitalizations as captured in two separate medical encounter claims databases. Results: Of the 11,266 ACS patients identified for analysis in the health system plan, 3588 (32%) had at least one ACS rehospitalization. Of the 97,177 ACS patients enrolled in the nationally representative managed care database, 32,578 (34%) had at least one ACS-related rehospitalization. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) was the strongest predictor of increased charges during the recurrence in both populations (p < 0.0001). When controlling for length of stay (LOS) in the model, CABG remained a significant predictor of increased charges, while percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and stent insertion became even stronger predictors of increased charges. Conclusions: The costs associated with ACS-related rehospitalizations in a real-world setting are high, even when controlling for known cost drivers such as length of stay.

Patient and physician perceptions of treatment of moderate-to-severe chronic pain with oral opioids

Abstract Objective: To study physician and patient perceptions of moderate-to-severe chronic pain and its management with oral opioids. Methods: Two separate surveys were developed and administered to one of two respective study groups: patients and physicians. All study participants recruited from a pool of individuals who had previously agreed to participate in market research. Survey questions addressed the impact of various factors (e.g., quality of life indicators, potential for opioid addiction, side-effects) on pain management decision making, patient satisfaction and compliance. Responses for the first 500 patients and 275 physicians to respond were assessed using descriptive statistics. Results: On average, patients were 53 years of age, white (89%), and female (71%). The majority of patients (80%) had been taking oral opioids longer than 6 months. Physicians reported that 45% of their patients received schedule II opioids, with 27% having severe chronic pain. Patients indicated the most common activities interfered with by chronic pain were exercising (76% of patients), working outside the home (67%), and job responsibilities (60%). When developing a treatment approach physicians considered patients’ sleeping (91%), walking (86%), maintaining an independent lifestyle (84%), and job responsibilities (83%). Patients and physicians both rated the ability to relieve pain and the duration of relief as the most important factors when considering opioid therapy. The majority (63%) of patients reported experiencing opioid side effects. When physicians discontinued opioids due to side effects, the most frequent reason was nausea (78%) for immediate-release opioids, and constipation (64%) for extended-release formulations. Conclusion: The ability to relieve pain and the duration of that pain relief are the most important factors for both patients and physicians when selecting an opioid. A high percentage of patients surveyed experienced side effects related to their treatment, which may impact adherence and overall treatment effectiveness. Study results should be assessed within study limitations including responder and selection biases, physicians responded about their patients, who were not the same patients surveyed, and the fact that the survey instruments were not formally validated. Further research is warranted to address these limitations.

Clinical impact of early clopidogrel discontinuation following acute myocardial infarction hospitalization or stent implantation: analysis in a nationally representative managed-care population

ABSTRACT Objectives: To evaluate the association between discontinuation of clopidogrel therapy and risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) hospitalization or cardiac revascularization in a nationally-representative patient population following hospitalization for an AMI or coronary stent insertion. Research design and methods: This observational cohort study was performed using data on patients from the PharMetrics Anonymous Patient-Centric Database who were hospitalized for an AMI or coronary stent insertion and subsequently treated with clopidogrel. Cox proportional hazard modeling was used to evaluate the association between clopidogrel discontinuation prior to 1 year post-initial AMI hospitalization and the primary endpoint of repeat AMI hospitalization or coronary intervention defined as percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with or without stent, or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). Main outcome measures: The main outcome for this study was AMI hospitalization or coronary intervention defined as PCI with or without stent placement or CABG. Results: A total of 31 835 patients were included in the analyses. Patients were predominantly male and the average patient age was approximately 60 years. After controlling for baseline patient characteristics and follow-up time, discontinuation of clopidogrel was associated with a significantly higher rate of hospitalization for AMI or coronary intervention (HR 1.34, 95% CI 1.22–1.44). Conclusion: Within a population of ACS patients drawn from a database of 85 US health plans, clopidogrel discontinuation within 1 year following hospitalization for AMI or stent placement is associated with an increased risk of AMI hospitalization or coronary intervention. The results of this study should be interpreted within the context of observational research, which does not address cause and effect relationships.

Fall-related healthcare use and costs in neurogenic orthostatic hypotension with Parkinson’s disease

Abstract Aims: To compare patient characteristics, rates, and costs of medically attended falls among patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and probable PD plus neurogenic orthostatic hypotension (PD + nOH). Materials and methods: MarketScan Commercial and Medicare Supplemental databases (January 1, 2009–December 31, 2013) were used to identify PD and probable PD + nOH patients. The first medical or prescription claim suggesting these diagnoses served as the index date. Baseline characteristics and post-index all-cause and fall-related healthcare utilization and costs were compared between patient groups. Results: A total of 17,421 PD and 281 PD + nOH patients were identified. Compared with PD patients, PD + nOH patients were older (77 vs 74 years; p < .0001) and had more comorbidities. Pre- and post-index date, more PD + nOH patients had a medically attended fall than PD patients (25% vs 20% [p = .0159] and 30% vs 21% [p = 0.0002], respectively). Fallers in both groups had similar numbers of medically attended falls 12-months pre-index (mean =1.9), but PD + nOH fallers had more falls post-index (2.5 vs 2.0; p = .0176). Compared with PD patients, more PD + nOH patients (all p < .01) had fall-related emergency department (ED) visits (18% vs 10%), hospitalizations (7% vs 3%), and non-office visit outpatient services (15% vs 10%). Adjusted total post-index medical costs for falls (

Prevalence of Stroke/Transient Ischemic Attack Among Patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes in a Real-World Setting

2,260 vs

Use and cost comparison of clobazam to other antiepileptic drugs for treatment of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome

1,049; p = .0002) and total all-cause costs (

Comparative evaluation of treatment patterns and healthcare utilization of newly-diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis patients by anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody status

31,260 vs

Cardiovascular comorbidities in a United States patient population with hemophilia A: A comprehensive chart review

20,910; p < .0001) were higher for PD + nOH vs PD patients. Limitations: This study had some limitations. There is no ICD-9-CM diagnosis code for nOH, so a combination of PD and OH diagnoses (with confounding conditions excluded) served as a proxy for an nOH diagnosis. Also, the rate of falls and associated costs in these cohorts might be under-reported because only medically attended falls were evaluated. Conclusions: PD + nOH patients had a higher prevalence of pre-existing comorbidities and a higher rate of medically attended falls than those with PD alone, leading to increased costs of care.

Economic burden of patients with diffuse large B-cell and follicular lymphoma treated in the USA

Abstract Background: Atherothrombosis is a systemic disease that may manifest as acute ischemic events in multiple vascular beds. Patients who have experienced an atherothrombosis-related ischemic event in 1 vascular bed are at risk for developing ischemic events in other vascular beds. Antiplatelet therapy demands an understanding of the balance between arterial thrombosis benefit and adverse event risk. Clinical trials indicate that dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and the newer thienopyridines increases the risk of bleeding in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) with prior cerebrovascular events. Informed clinical decision making requires a better understanding of the real-world prevalence of cerebrovascular events. Objective and Purpose: To estimate the prevalence of stroke and/or transient ischemic attack (TIA) among patients with ACS within US health plan populations. Methods: A retrospective, observational cohort study was conducted of patients with ACS in 5 health care claims databases. The index event was defined as the first documented inpatient health care claim for myocardial infarction or unstable angina. Patients with ≥ 12 months of pre-index medical care encounter information were included. Stroke/TIA was identified by the first health care claim for these conditions any time prior to or within 90 days following the index ACS event. Results: Across all databases, between 3.8% and 15.7% of patients with ACS had prior stroke/TIA and between 3.4% and 11.7% of patients with ACS with no history of cerebrovascular events had documented stroke/TIA following the index ACS hospitalization. Conclusion: Despite important differences between the various database populations, there is a high prevalence of documented stroke/TIA in patients with ACS both prior to and following the ACS event. These real-world findings, set within the context of the increased bleeding risk observed with the newer thienopyridines, are important considerations when selecting antiplatelet therapy for patients with ACS.

Impact of adherence to antidepressants on healthcare outcomes and costs among patients with type 2 diabetes and comorbid major depressive disorder

ABSTRACT Background: Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) is a severe form of childhood-onset epilepsy associated with serious injuries due to frequent and severe seizures. Of the antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) approved for LGS, clobazam is a more recent market entrant, having been approved in October 2011. Recent AED budget impact and cost-effectiveness analyses for LGS suggest that adding clobazam to a health plan formulary may result in decreased medical costs; however, research on clinical and economic outcomes and treatment patterns with these AED treatments in LGS is limited. Objectives: To compare the baseline characteristics and treatment patterns of new initiators of clobazam and other AEDs among LGS patients and compare healthcare utilization and costs before and after clobazam initiation among LGS patients. Methods: A retrospective study of probable LGS patients was conducted using the MarketScan® Commercial, Medicare Supplemental, and Medicaid databases (10/1/2010-3/31/2014). Results: In the Commercial/Medicare Supplemental population, clobazam users were younger, had fewer comorbidities, and more prior AED use than non-clobazam users. In the 12 months pre-treatment initiation, clobazam users had significantly more seizure-related inpatient stays and outpatient visits and higher total seizure-related (P < 0.001) and all-cause (P < 0.001) costs than non-clobazam users. Among clobazam users, when compared to the 12 months pre-clobazam initiation, seizure-related medical utilization and costs were lower in the 12 months post-clobazam initiation (P = 0.004). Total all-cause (P < 0.001) and seizure-related (P = 0.029) costs increased post-clobazam initiation mainly due to the increase in outpatient pharmacy costs. Similar results were observed in the Medicaid population. Conclusions: Baseline results suggest a prescribing preference for clobazam in severe LGS patients. Clobazam users had a reduction in seizure-related medical utilization and costs after clobazam initiation. The improvement in medical costs mostly offset the higher prescription costs following clobazam initiation.