Luigi Biancone, Gaetano La Manna, Letizia Dondi, Leonardo Dondi, Giulia Ronconi, Silvia Calabria, Irene Dell'Anno, Carlo Piccinni, Immacolata Esposito, Alice Addesi, Nello Martini
{"title":"Healthcare of patients with immunoglobulin A nephropathy through a retrospective observational study of Italian administrative data.","authors":"Luigi Biancone, Gaetano La Manna, Letizia Dondi, Leonardo Dondi, Giulia Ronconi, Silvia Calabria, Irene Dell'Anno, Carlo Piccinni, Immacolata Esposito, Alice Addesi, Nello Martini","doi":"10.33393/grhta.2025.3397","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is a rare disease poorly described in real-world settings. This observational retrospective study aimed to assess the direct healthcare burden of new IgAN patients on the Italian National Healthcare Service (SSN).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>From the Fondazione Ricerca e Salute's database (administrative healthcare data of ~5.5 million inhabitants/year), inpatients with new potential in-hospital biopsy-verified IgAN from 2016 to 2019 were identified. Dispensations of IgAN-recommended and other drugs, kidney replacement therapies (KRT), hospital and emergency department (ED) admissions, local outpatient specialist care, and related direct costs were assessed throughout a 3-year follow-up.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>New IgAN patients (n = 292) were identified (incidence/year: 1.25/100 000 inhabitants); 64% of patients were male; the median age was 41 (27; 57) years. Annual consumption of most healthcare resources decreased from Year 1 to 3: from 90% to 84% of patients received ≥1 IgAN-recommended drug; from 100% (due to selection criteria) to 15% of patients underwent overnight hospitalizations; from 8% to 3% patients underwent day hospitalizations; from 31% to 21% patients underwent ≥1 ED access; from 87% to 85% patients received local outpatient specialist services. Of all patients, 2-4% were treated with KRT, and ~91% received other drugs. The per capita mean total annual cost was €7441 in Year 1 (hospitalizations accounting for 73% due to selection criteria), €3497 in Year 2, and €3243 in Year 3 (drugs accounting for 51%, mostly attributable to other drugs).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This real-world study shows a substantial direct healthcare burden for new IgAN patients arising from IgAN-specific care and comorbidities.</p>","PeriodicalId":12627,"journal":{"name":"Global & Regional Health Technology Assessment","volume":"12 ","pages":"130-140"},"PeriodicalIF":0.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12080238/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Global & Regional Health Technology Assessment","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.33393/grhta.2025.3397","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) is a rare disease poorly described in real-world settings. This observational retrospective study aimed to assess the direct healthcare burden of new IgAN patients on the Italian National Healthcare Service (SSN).
Methods: From the Fondazione Ricerca e Salute's database (administrative healthcare data of ~5.5 million inhabitants/year), inpatients with new potential in-hospital biopsy-verified IgAN from 2016 to 2019 were identified. Dispensations of IgAN-recommended and other drugs, kidney replacement therapies (KRT), hospital and emergency department (ED) admissions, local outpatient specialist care, and related direct costs were assessed throughout a 3-year follow-up.
Results: New IgAN patients (n = 292) were identified (incidence/year: 1.25/100 000 inhabitants); 64% of patients were male; the median age was 41 (27; 57) years. Annual consumption of most healthcare resources decreased from Year 1 to 3: from 90% to 84% of patients received ≥1 IgAN-recommended drug; from 100% (due to selection criteria) to 15% of patients underwent overnight hospitalizations; from 8% to 3% patients underwent day hospitalizations; from 31% to 21% patients underwent ≥1 ED access; from 87% to 85% patients received local outpatient specialist services. Of all patients, 2-4% were treated with KRT, and ~91% received other drugs. The per capita mean total annual cost was €7441 in Year 1 (hospitalizations accounting for 73% due to selection criteria), €3497 in Year 2, and €3243 in Year 3 (drugs accounting for 51%, mostly attributable to other drugs).
Conclusion: This real-world study shows a substantial direct healthcare burden for new IgAN patients arising from IgAN-specific care and comorbidities.
期刊介绍:
Global & Regional Health Technology Assessment (GRHTA) is a peer-reviewed, open access journal which aims to promote health technology assessment and economic evaluation, enabling choices among alternative therapeutical paths or procedures with different clinical and economic outcomes. GRHTA is a unique journal having three different editorial boards who focus on their respective geographical expertise.