[Direct costs of pharmacotherapy for acute leukemia at a Regional Hospital in Chile].
BACKGROUND
In Chile, leukemia is one of the diseases whose treatment is guaranteed by a special law called AUGE (universal access and explicit guaranties). Therefore, the knowledge of its treatment costs is of utmost importance.


OBJECTIVE
To determine and to characterize the direct costs of pharmacotherapy for leukemia at a regional hospital in Chile.


METHODS
Data were retrospectively obtained from electronic and manual records of the hospital for all patients treated for leukemia between 2003 and 2006. Patients were classified into four groups: pediatric and adult patients treated for acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL children and ALL adults, respectively), and pediatric and adult patients treated for acute myelogenous leukemia (AML children and AML adults, respectively).


RESULTS
Total accumulated costs of pharmacotherapy for acute leukemia between 2003 and 2006 were 304,724,845 Chilean pesos (USD 574,952). The higher total or per patient costs, were generated by drugs for chemotherapy compared to other required medications. The exception were AML children, where support drugs, such as antimicrobials, ant emetic drugs and colony stimulating factors, generated the higher costs per patient. Among ALL adults, AML children and AML adults, the costs were concentrated in the first 6 months of treatment. NO children followed this tendency concentrating the costs between the seventh and twenty-fourth months.


CONCLUSIONS
Annual costs of pharmacotherapy per patient for acute leukemia in this regional hospital were approximately USD 4,717. Chemotherapy was the item with the greatest impact on cost.
Molina
Felipe
F
Instituto de Farmacia, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile.
Schramm
Claudia
C
Ruiz
Guido
G
D000328:Adult; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000191:economics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002677:Chile; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics*; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents