Fermann GJ, Lovelace B, Christoph MJ, Lingohr-Smith M, Lin J, Deitelzweig SB
Abstract
ObjectiveTo examine the healthcare economic burden of atrial fibrillation (AF) patients treated with factor Xa inhibitor (FXaI) anticoagulants who were hospitalized in the US with a major bleed (MB)MethodsAdult AF patients treated with FXaIs and hospitalized with an MB were selected from MarketScan databases (1 January 2015-30 April 2018). Patients were grouped into cohorts based on type of MB: intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), gastrointestinal (GI), other types of MB. Healthcare costs in 2019 USD were evaluated for index hospitalizations and during a variable follow-up period in unadjusted and adjusted analyses.ResultsOf the overall AF patient population treated with FXaIs and hospitalized with an MB (n = 7,577), 9.9% had ICH (mean age: 77.9 years; 58% male), 55.9% had GI (mean age: 76.8 years; 52% male), and 34.2% had other types of MB (mean age: 74.4 years; 61% male). Mean index hospitalization costs for ICH, GI, and other type of MB were $54,163, $26,901, and $36,645, respectively; from adjusted analyses, patients with ICH vs. GI spent 1.6 more days in the hospital; mean cost was $15,630 higher. Patients with other types of MB vs. GI spent 0.6 more days in the hospital; mean cost was $5,859 higher. Index hospitalization cost in addition to total all-cause healthcare costs incurred in the follow-up period were $34,522 higher per ICH patient and $11,584 higher per other type of MB patient vs. a GI MB patient.LimitationsSince this study was a retrospective observational study using a claims database analysis, a causal relationship between treatment with FXaIs and MB events cannot be established.ConclusionsAlthough all of the evaluated MB types were associated with high hospitalization costs, ICH was associated with the most substantial short- and long-term healthcare economic burden.
