Medical resource consumption of moderate/severe psoriasis in a private health organization of Buenos Aires, Argentina,

Abstract Background: Despite the economic burden of psoriasis for patients and societies, scant information exists regarding the impact and burden of the disease in Argentina. Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate medical resource consumption and direct health care costs for patients with moderate/severe psoriasis in Buenos Aires, Argentina from the perspective of the payer. Methods: Adults with moderate/severe psoriasis (severity was defined as receiving systemic treatment), during January 2010-January 2014, aged 18 years and older, members of the Italian Hospital Medical Care Program with at least 18 months of follow-up were included. All data on hospitalizations, drug prescription, outpatient episodes, consultations, and investigations/tests in the 12 months before inclusion in the study were considered for the estimation of medical resource consumption and direct health care costs. First-quarter 2018 costs were obtained from the IHMCP and converted into US dollars (using the January 2018 exchange rate). Results: A total of 791 patients were included. The mean age at diagnosis was 34 ± 12 years. Almost 65% of the patients had a dermatologist as their usual source of care, 43% had internists, and 14% had rheumatologists. The average yearly direct cost was US$ 5326 (95% CI: 4125-7896) per patient per year. Study limitation: The single center design and the retrospective nature are the main limitations. Conclusion: This is the first Argentine study that evaluated the costs of moderate/severe psoriasis by taking into consideration the direct medical costs of the disease.

Medical resource consumption of moderate/severe psoriasis in a private health organization of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

BACKGROUND: Despite the economic burden of psoriasis for patients and societies, scant information exists regarding the impact and burden of the disease in Argentina. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to estimate medical resource consumption and direct health care costs for patients with moderate/severe psoriasis in Buenos Aires, Argentina from the perspective of the payer. METHODS: Adults with moderate/severe psoriasis (severity was defined as receiving systemic treatment), during January 2010-January 2014, aged 18 years and older, members of the Italian Hospital Medical Care Program with at least 18 months of follow-up were included. All data on hospitalizations, drug prescription, outpatient episodes, consultations, and investigations/tests in the 12 months before inclusion in the study were considered for the estimation of medical resource consumption and direct health care costs. First-quarter 2018 costs were obtained from the IHMCP and converted into US dollars (using the January 2018 exchange rate). RESULTS: A total of 791 patients were included. The mean age at diagnosis was 34±12 years. Almost 65% of the patients had a dermatologist as their usual source of care, 43% had internists, and 14% had rheumatologists. The average yearly direct cost was US$ 5326 (95% CI: 4125-7896) per patient per year. STUDY LIMITATION: The single center design and the retrospective nature are the main limitations. CONCLUSION: This is the first Argentine study that evaluated the costs of moderate/severe psoriasis by taking into consideration the direct medical costs of the disease.

Real-life approach and treatment of chronic urticaria in Argentina: A National Survey.

The management of chronic urticaria (CU) has been controversial. Recently updated international guidelines propose evidence-based diagnosis and treatment. Nevertheless, dermatologists have heterogeneous approaches to managing CU. To estimate the percentage of dermatologists who have an optimal approach to CU according to the international guidelines, and to explore the variables associated with optimal management a cross-sectional study using a 17-question survey was delivered by email to dermatologists from Argentina. Optimal first, second, and third line treatment were considered when dermatologists chose a nonsedative antihistamine; increased the dosage of nonsedative antihistamines, and added omalizumab, respectively. Logistic regression was used to identify variables associated with optimal management. A total of 165 questionnaires were available for analysis. An optimal first, second, and third-line treatment approach was identified in 50%, 35%, and 15% of the dermatologists, respectively. The dermatologists' age being above 55 years old (OR: 0.12, 95% CI: 0.01-0.99, p .005) and having more than 5 years of expertise (OR: 0.4, 95% CI: 0.19-0.81, p .001) were significantly associated with a suboptimal approach in second-line treatment. We could not find variables associated with an optimal first or third-line treatment. The real-life management of CU in Argentina is partly suboptimal according to the international guidelines.

Pyoderma gangrenosum: clinical characteristics, associated diseases, and responses to treatment in a retrospective cohort study of 31 patients.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe the clinical characteristics of patients with pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) and to evaluate the association between these characteristics, the treatment followed, and the patient responses, relapses, and mortality rates. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This retrospective cohort study identified adults diagnosed with pyoderma gangrenosum over the duration of 10 years. RESULTS: Thirty-one patients were evaluated; 58% were women and 55% were older than 65 years, 87% presented with the ulcerative type, and 77% showed lower limb compromise. Approximately 74% of the cases were associated with systemic disease. The most frequent were inflammatory bowel disease (32%) and hematologic malignancies (22%). Pyoderma gangrenosum preceded the associated disease in 26% of the patients, all of them were younger than 50 years old (P = 0.059). In 83% of the latter, the diagnosis of associated disease followed the cutaneous lesions within 24 months. Among the 10 patients with inflammatory bowel disease, six required biologic agents to control the pyoderma gangrenosum (P = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Despite the advances that have been made in the treatment of patients with pyoderma gangrenosum, we are still unclear as to the optimal way in which patients should be followed up once the diagnosis is made. The results of our study underline the importance of doing screening tests to detect potential disease, emphasizing patients younger than 50 years old, for a minimum time lapse of 24 months. It is essential to design randomized-controlled trials to understand the most appropriate and effective ways of following up patients with pyoderma gangrenosum.