{"title":"Direct medical cost related to the management of pemphigus: A pilot Tunisian study.","authors":"Faten Hayder, Emna Bahloul, Sourour Yaich, Sana Turki, Khadija Sellami, Noureddine Litaiem, Hatem Masmoudi, Manel Turki, Hamida Turki","doi":"10.62438/tunismed.v102i2.4651","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Pemphigus is a therapeutically challenging disease with high morbidity and economic burden. First-line prescription of rituximab remains limited in Tunisia due to its high cost. Systemic steroids remain the standard of care but are associated with a major risk of morbidities and higher treatment costs.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>To assess the direct medical costs of pemphigus in Tunisia.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Retrospective estimation of direct medical costs during the 18 months following the diagnosis using the \"bottom-up approach\" in the Dermatology Department of Hedi Chaker Hospital, Sfax, Tunisia.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Total medical costs were estimated at 38745.7 €, with an average cost of 1 210 € per patient and per year: paraclinical investigations (46%), medical treatment (30%), hospitalization (21%) and outpatient visits (3%). The average cost was the highest in the age group of 15-24 years (1553 €). Treatment costs related to corticosteroid-induced morbidity were estimated at 1208 €.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The management of pemphigus in Tunisia needs to be adapted to take into account the health economic analysis in order to reduce overall disease costs and the burden of steroid-induced morbidities.</p>","PeriodicalId":38818,"journal":{"name":"Tunisie Medicale","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2024-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11358821/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Tunisie Medicale","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.62438/tunismed.v102i2.4651","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"Medicine","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction: Pemphigus is a therapeutically challenging disease with high morbidity and economic burden. First-line prescription of rituximab remains limited in Tunisia due to its high cost. Systemic steroids remain the standard of care but are associated with a major risk of morbidities and higher treatment costs.
Aim: To assess the direct medical costs of pemphigus in Tunisia.
Methods: Retrospective estimation of direct medical costs during the 18 months following the diagnosis using the "bottom-up approach" in the Dermatology Department of Hedi Chaker Hospital, Sfax, Tunisia.
Results: Total medical costs were estimated at 38745.7 €, with an average cost of 1 210 € per patient and per year: paraclinical investigations (46%), medical treatment (30%), hospitalization (21%) and outpatient visits (3%). The average cost was the highest in the age group of 15-24 years (1553 €). Treatment costs related to corticosteroid-induced morbidity were estimated at 1208 €.
Conclusions: The management of pemphigus in Tunisia needs to be adapted to take into account the health economic analysis in order to reduce overall disease costs and the burden of steroid-induced morbidities.