title: Direct medical costs for partial refractory epilepsy in Mexico.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim was to determine the direct medical costs in patients with partial refractory epilepsy at the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) in Mexico.
  
  
  METHODS
  We carried out a multicenter, retrospective-cohort partial-economic evaluation study of partial refractory epilepsy (PRE) diagnosed patients and analyzed patient files from four secondary- and tertiary-level hospitals. PRE patients >12 years of age with two or more antiepileptic drugs and follow-up for at least 1 year were included. The perspective was institutional (IMSS). Only direct healthcare costs were considered, and the timeline was 1 year. Cost techniques were microcosting, average per-service cost, and per-day cost, all costs expressed in U.S. dollars (USD, 2004).
  
  
  RESULTS
  We reviewed 813 files of PRE patients: 133 had a correct diagnosis, and only 72 met study inclusion criteria. Fifty eight percent were females, 64% were <35 years of age, 47% were students, in 73% maximum academic level achieved was high school, and 53% were single. Fifty one percent of cases experienced simple partial seizures and 94% had more than one monthly seizure. Annual healthcare cost of the 72 patients was 190,486 USD, ambulatory healthcare contributing 76% and hospital healthcare with 24%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Annual mean healthcare cost per PRE patient was 2,646 USD; time of disease evolution and severity of the patient's illness did not affect costs significantly.
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Investigación en Economía de la Salud, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, México D.F., México. fernando.garciacon@imss.gob.mx
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: García-Contreras
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Constantino-Casas
authors.forename: Angélica
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Castro-Ríos
authors.forename: Armando
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nevárez-Sida
authors.forename: Gloria del Carmen
authors.initials: Gdel C
authors.lastname: Estrada Correa
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Carlos Rivera
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guzmán-Caniupan
authors.forename: Laura del Pilar
authors.initials: Ldel P
authors.lastname: Torres-Arreola
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Contreras-Hernández
authors.forename: Joaquin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mould-Quevedo
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Garduño-Espinosa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017281:Cost of Illness; D004828:Epilepsies, Partial / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants