The mean attributable health care costs associated with hepatitis B virus in Ontario, Canada: A matched cohort study.

Background: No Canadian studies examined the economic impact of hepatitis B virus (HBV) using population-based, patient-level data. We determined attributable costs associated with HBV from a health care payer perspective. Methods: We conducted an incidence-based, matched cohort, cost-of-illness study. We identified infected subjects (positive HBV surface antigen, DNA, or e-antigen) between 2004 and 2014, using health administrative data. The index date was the first positive specimen. The cohort was organized into three groups: no HBV-related complications, HBV-related complications before index date, and HBV-related complications post-index date. To evaluate costs (2017 Canadian dollars), we adopted the phase-of-care approach defining six phases. Mean attributable costs were determined by evaluating mean differences between matched pairs. Hard match variables were sex, age group, index year, rurality, neighbourhood income quintile, comorbidities, and immigrant status. Costs were combined with crude survival data to calculate 1-, 5-, and 10-year costs. Results: We identified 41,469 infected subjects with a mean age of 44.2 years. The majority were males (54.7%), immigrants (58.4%), and residents of major urban centres (96.8%). Eight percent had HBV-related complications before index date and 11.5% had them post index date. Across groups, mean attributable costs ranged from CAD $27-$19 for pre-diagnosis, CAD $167-$1,062 for initial care, CAD $53-$407 for continuing care, CAD $1,033 for HBV-related complications, CAD $304 for continuing care for complications, and CAD $2,552-$4,281 for final care. Mean cumulative 1-, 5-, and 10-year costs ranged between CAD $253-$3,067, $3,067-$20,349, and $6,128-$38,968, respectively. Conclusions: HBV is associated with long-term economic burden. These results support decision-making on HBV prevention and monitoring strategies.

Impact of Timing of Mental Health Interventions for Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Patients: A 10-year Matched Cohort Study of Workers' Compensation Claims.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of timing of mental health interventions in workers' compensation claims for mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). METHODS: A 10-year matched retrospective cohort study of MTBI claims. Cases who started treatment within 3 months of the date of injury were hard matched to cases who started treatment more than 3 months after the date of injury. Outcomes were incremental cost difference and loss of earnings benefit duration 1 year after first intervention. RESULTS: Seventeen percent (17%) of patients received mental health interventions. The early mental health intervention group had lower mean costs (incremental difference$1580 [95% CI: $5718 to $2085]) and shorter durations of disability (off loss of earnings) (59.2% versus 46.6%, NS). Sensitivity and stratified analyses demonstrated the same trend. CONCLUSIONS: Early mental health interventions for MTBI patients may lead to reduced health care costs and shorter durations of disability.

Prenatal hepatitis B screening, and hepatitis B burden among children, in Ontario: a descriptive study.

BACKGROUND: Ontario is 1 of 5 provinces that immunize adolescents for hepatitis B virus (HBV), despite the World Health Organization recommendation for universal birth dose vaccination. One rationale for not vaccinating at birth is that universal prenatal screening and related interventions prevent vertical transmission. The aims of our study were to evaluate the uptake and epidemiology of prenatal HBV screening, and to determine the number of children in Ontario with a diagnosis of HBV before adolescent vaccination. METHODS: We extracted data from ICES, Public Health Ontario and Better Outcomes & Registry Network (BORN) Ontario databases. We assessed prenatal screening uptake and prevalence of prenatal hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) from 2012 to 2016, as well as subsequent hepatitis B e-antigen (HBeAg) and HBV DNA testing and percent positivity. We used age and region to subcategorize the results. In a separate unlinked analysis, we evaluated the number of children positive for HBV aged 0-11 years who were born in Ontario from 2003 to 2013. RESULTS: From 2012 to 2016, 93% of pregnant women were screened for HBV, with an HBsAg prevalence of 0.6%. Prevalence of HBsAg increased with age, peaking at older than 45 years at 3%. North Toronto had the highest overall prevalence of 1.5%, whereas northern Ontario had the lowest. Of women who were HBsAg positive, HBeAg and HBV DNA tests were subsequently ordered in 13% and 38%, respectively. Of children born in Ontario between 2003 and 2013, 139 of 23 759 tested positive for HBV. INTERPRETATION: Prenatal HBV screening is not universal and subsequent evaluation is poor, limiting optimal intervention and possibly contributing to some Ontario-born children being given a diagnosis of HBV before age 12 years. These findings underscore the limitations of the province's adolescent vaccination strategy.

A population-based matched cohort study examining the mortality and costs of patients with community-onset Clostridium difficile infection identified using emergency department visits and hospital admissions.

Few studies have evaluated the mortality or quantified the economic burden of community-onset Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). We estimated the attributable mortality and costs of community-onset CDI. We conducted a population-based matched cohort study. We identified incident subjects with community-onset CDI using health administrative data (emergency department visits and hospital admissions) in Ontario, Canada between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2010. We propensity-score matched each infected subject to one uninfected subject and followed subjects in the cohort until December 31, 2011. We evaluated all-cause mortality and costs (unadjusted and adjusted for survival) from the healthcare payer perspective (2014 Canadian dollars). During our study period, we identified 7,950 infected subjects. The mean age was 63.5 years (standard deviation = 22.0), 62.7% were female, and 45.0% were very high users of the healthcare system. The relative risk for 30-day, 180-day, and 1-year mortality were 7.32 (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.94-9.02), 3.55 (95%CI, 3.17-3.97), and 2.59 (95%CI, 2.37-2.83), respectively. Mean attributable cumulative 30-day, 180-day, and 1-year costs (unadjusted for survival) were $7,434 (95%CI, $7,122-$7,762), $12,517 (95%CI, $11,687-$13,366), and $13,217 (95%CI, $12,062-$14,388). Mean attributable cumulative 1-, 2-, and 3-year costs (adjusted for survival) were $10,700 (95%CI, $9,811-$11,645), $13,312 (95%CI, $12,024-$14,682), and $15,812 (95%CI, $14,159-$17,571). Infected subjects had considerably higher risk of all-cause mortality and costs compared with uninfected subjects. This study provides insight on an understudied patient group. Our study findings will facilitate assessment of interventions to prevent community-onset CDI.

The Economic Burden of Hospital-Acquired Clostridium difficile Infection: A Population-Based Matched Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND High-quality cost estimates for hospital-acquired Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) are vital evidence for healthcare policy and decision-making. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the costs attributable to hospital-acquired CDI from the healthcare payer perspective. METHODS We conducted a population-based propensity-score matched cohort study of incident hospitalized subjects diagnosed with CDI (those with the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision, Canada code A04.7) from January 1, 2003, through December 31, 2010, in Ontario, Canada. Infected subjects were matched to uninfected subjects (those without the code A04.7) on age, sex, comorbidities, geography, and other variables, and followed up through December 31, 2011. We stratified results by elective and nonelective admissions. The main study outcomes were up-to-3-year costs, which were evaluated in 2014 Canadian dollars. RESULTS We identified 28,308 infected subjects (mean annual incidence, 27.9 per 100,000 population, 3.3 per 1,000 admissions), with a mean age of 71.5 years (range, 0-107 years), 54.0% female, and 8.0% elective admissions. For elective admission subjects, cumulative mean attributable 1-, 2-, and 3-year costs adjusted for survival (undiscounted) were $32,151 (95% CI, $28,192-$36,005), $34,843 ($29,298-$40,027), and $37,171 ($30,364-$43,415), respectively. For nonelective admission subjects, the corresponding costs were $21,909 ($21,221-$22,609), $26,074 ($25,180-$27,014), and $29,944 ($28,873-$31,086), respectively. CONCLUSIONS Hospital-acquired CDI is associated with substantial healthcare costs. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first CDI costing study to present longitudinal costs. New strategies may be warranted to mitigate this costly infectious disease. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2016;37:1068-1078.

The economic impact of Clostridium difficile infection: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: With Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) on the rise, knowledge of the current economic burden of CDI can inform decisions on interventions related to CDI. We systematically reviewed CDI cost-of-illness (COI) studies. METHODS: We performed literature searches in six databases: MEDLINE, Embase, the Health Technology Assessment Database, the National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database, the Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Registry, and EconLit. We also searched gray literature and conducted reference list searches. Two reviewers screened articles independently. One reviewer abstracted data and assessed quality using a modified guideline for economic evaluations. The second reviewer validated the abstraction and assessment. RESULTS: We identified 45 COI studies between 1988 and June 2014. Most (84%) of the studies were from the United States, calculating costs of hospital stays (87%), and focusing on direct costs (100%). Attributable mean CDI costs ranged from $8,911 to $30,049 for hospitalized patients. Few studies stated resource quantification methods (0%), an epidemiological approach (0%), or a justified study perspective (16%) in their cost analyses. In addition, few studies conducted sensitivity analyses (7%). CONCLUSIONS: Forty-five COI studies quantified and confirmed the economic impact of CDI. Costing methods across studies were heterogeneous. Future studies should follow standard COI methodology, expand study perspectives (e.g., patient), and explore populations least studied (e.g., community-acquired CDI).

The average cost of pressure ulcer management in a community dwelling spinal cord injury population.

Pressure ulcers (PUs) are a common secondary complication experienced by community dwelling individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). There is a paucity of literature on the health economic impact of PU in SCI population from a societal perspective. The objective of this study was to determine the resource use and costs in 2010 Canadian dollars of a community dwelling SCI individual experiencing a PU from a societal perspective. A non-comparative cost analysis was conducted on a cohort of community dwelling SCI individuals from Ontario, Canada. Medical resource use was recorded over the study period. Unit costs associated with these resources were collected from publicly available sources and published literature. Average monthly cost was calculated based on 7-month follow-up. Costs were stratified by age, PU history, severity level, location of SCI, duration of current PU and PU surface area. Sensitivity analyses were also carried out. Among the 12 study participants, total average monthly cost per community dwelling SCI individual with a PU was $4745. Hospital admission costs represented the greatest percentage of the total cost (62%). Sensitivity analysis showed that the total average monthly costs were most sensitive to variations in hospitalisation costs.

The direct medical costs associated with suspected heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.

BACKGROUND: Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is an adverse drug reaction associated with heparin exposure. Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, a tertiary-care adult academic hospital, has cared for an average of 100 cases of suspected HIT per year. Although the management of suspected HIT is resource intensive, few studies have assessed the cost burden associated with HIT, and none have assessed the costs of suspected HIT. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to identify and quantify the direct medical costs associated with suspected (confirmed and negative) HIT at a hospital in Canada. METHODS: A cost-of-illness analysis was conducted in patients with suspected HIT during 2005. Resource utilization variables included (i) laboratory tests to investigate HIT; (ii) HIT-safe anticoagulant use; (iii) diagnostic imaging related to HIT or its treatment; and (iv) additional hospital days attributed to HIT. The average costs per case of confirmed HIT, confirmed HIT with thrombosis (HITT) and negative HIT were calculated in $Can, year 2007 values. RESULTS: Confirmed HITT cases incurred substantially greater costs ($Can34 155, range 358-202 069; n = 12) than confirmed HIT cases without thrombosis ($Can4575, range 39-16 373; n = 8). The average cost of care for a negative HIT case was $Can119 (range 39-4181; n = 88). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study to quantify the costs associated with suspected HIT cases. These cases increase the costs of hospital care and provide further justification for HIT prevention strategies.