title: Annual direct medical costs of bronchiectasis treatment: Impact of severity, exacerbations, chronic bronchial colonization and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease coexistence.
abstract: Patients with bronchiectasis (BE) present exacerbations that increase with severity of the disease. We aimed to determine the annual cost of BE treatment according to its severity, determined by FACED score, as well as the parameters associated with higher costs. Multicentre historical cohorts study with patients from six hospitals in Spain. The costs arising during the course of a year from maintenance treatment, exacerbations, emergency visits and hospital admissions were analysed. In total, 456 patients were included (56.4% mild BE, 26.8% moderate BE and 16.9% severe BE). The mean cost was €4671.9 per patient, which increased significantly with severity. In mild BE, most of the costs were due to bronchodilators and inhaled steroids; in severe BE, most were due to exacerbations and inhaled antibiotics. Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1%), age, colonization by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the number of admissions were independently related to higher costs. The highest costs were found in patients with BE associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, with the most exacerbations and with chronic bronchial colonization by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA). In conclusion, BE patients gave rise to high annual costs, and these were doubled on each advance in severity on the FACED score. FEV1%, age, colonization by PA and the number of admissions were independently related to higher costs.
authors.affiliation: 1 Pneumology Unit, Hospital Plató, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: de la Rosa
authors.affiliation: 2 Pneumology Department, Hospital Universitario y Politécnico La Fe, València, Spain.
authors.forename: Miguel-Angel
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Martínez-Garcia
authors.affiliation: 3 Pneumology Department, Hospital Regional Universitario de Málaga, Instituto de Biomedicina de Málaga (IBIMA), Universidad de Málaga. Málaga, Spain.
authors.forename: Casilda
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Olveira
authors.affiliation: 4 Pneumology Department, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria, Hospital Universitario de La Princesa, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Girón
authors.affiliation: 5 Pneumology Department, Unidad de Bronquiectasias y Fibrosis Quística, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal. Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Máiz
authors.affiliation: 6 Pneumology Department, Unidad de Bronquiectasias y Fibrosis Quística, Hospital Universitario La Paz, IDIPaz, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Concepción
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Prados
keywords: Pharmacoeconomics; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; antibacterial agents; bronchiectasis; disease exacerbation; inhalation drug administration