ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: This study sought to estimate the economic impact of same-day home discharge compared with overnight hospitalization after transradial percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). BACKGROUND: Same-day home discharge after transradial PCI and a bolus-only abciximab regimen was found to be clinically noninferior to the abciximab standard therapy and overnight hospitalization in patients with various forms of acute coronary syndromes. METHODS: In the EASY (Early Discharge After Transradial Stenting of Coronary Arteries) trial, 1,005 patients were randomized after a bolus of abciximab and uncomplicated transradial coronary stenting, either to same-day home discharge and no infusion (outpatient group) or to overnight hospitalization and 12-h abciximab infusion (overnight-stay group). We estimated post-PCI health care cost (in Canadian dollars) of trial subjects and short-term economic impact of same-day home discharge. As randomization was done after the procedure, outcomes were similar, and PCI resource use showed minimal and nonsignificant differences, a post-PCI cost-minimization analysis was conducted. Detailed per-patient information of health care resources used immediately after PCI up to 30 days was collected. RESULTS: Mean post-PCI hospital stay was 8.9 h for outpatients versus 26.5 h for overnight-stay patients (p < 0.001). At 30-day follow-up, the mean cumulative medical cost per outpatient was $1,117 ± $1,554 versus $2,258 ± $1,328 for overnight-stay patients. The mean difference of $1,141 (95% confidence interval: $962 to $1,320) was mainly due to the extra night for overnight hospital stay. CONCLUSIONS: In a real-world setting, same-day home discharge after uncomplicated transradial PCI and a bolus-only abciximab regimen resulted in a 50% relative reduction in medical costs. Extension of this outpatient strategy would be welcomed by the hospitals and reimbursement systems in a context of increasing demand for health care cost reduction. (Early Discharge After Transradial Stenting of Coronary Arteries [EASY]; NCT00169819).
