title: The Characteristics of Treated Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Patients in Ontario.
abstract: Background. There are no Canadian prevalence studies on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) to date. We described the characteristics of treated PAH patients and the healthcare utilization and costs associated with PAH in a population of public drug plan beneficiaries in Ontario, Canada. Methods. A retrospective cross-sectional analysis was conducted between April 2010 and March 2011 to identify treated PAH patients using population-based health administrative databases. We investigated demographic and clinical characteristics of treated PAH patients and conducted a cohort study to determine treatment patterns, healthcare utilization, and associated costs, over a one-year follow-up period (March 2012). Results. We identified 326 treated PAH cases in Ontario's publicly funded drug plan. Overall mean age was 59.4 years (±20.3 years) and over 77% of cases were women (n = 251). Combination therapy was used to treat 22.9% (n = 69) of cases, costing an average of $4,569 (SD $1,544) per month. Median monthly healthcare costs were $264 (IQR $96-$747) for those who survived and $2,021 (IQR $993-$6,399) for those who died over a one-year period, respectively (p < 0.01). Conclusions. PAH care in Ontario is complex and has high healthcare costs. This data may help guide towards improved patient management.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Queen's University, 15 Arch Street, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6.
authors.forename: Haris M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Vaid
authors.affiliation: The Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, 2075 Bayview Avenue G1 06, Toronto, ON, Canada M4N 3M5.
authors.forename: Ximena
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Camacho
authors.affiliation: Toronto General Hospital, 200 Elizabeth Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M5G 2C4; University Health Network, 399 Bathurst Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M5T 2S8; Department of Medicine, The University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle No. 3172, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 1A8.
authors.forename: John T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Granton
authors.affiliation: The Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, 2075 Bayview Avenue G1 06, Toronto, ON, Canada M4N 3M5; Department of Medicine, The University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle No. 3172, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 1A8; The Department of Medicine, St. Michael's Hospital, 30 Bond Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M5B 1W8; Department of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, The University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M5T 3M6; The Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Toronto, 144 College Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 3M2; Keenan Research Centre, The Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, 209 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M5B 1T8.
authors.forename: Muhammad M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Mamdani
authors.affiliation: The Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, 2075 Bayview Avenue G1 06, Toronto, ON, Canada M4N 3M5.
authors.forename: Zhan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: The Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, 2075 Bayview Avenue G1 06, Toronto, ON, Canada M4N 3M5.
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: The Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, 2075 Bayview Avenue G1 06, Toronto, ON, Canada M4N 3M5; Department of Medicine, The University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle No. 3172, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 1A8; Department of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, The University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M5T 3M6; The Sunnybrook Research Institute, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON, Canada M4N 3M5; Department of Pediatrics, The University of Toronto, 555 University Avenue Black Wing, 1436 Toronto, ON, Canada M5G 1X8.
authors.forename: David N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Juurlink
authors.affiliation: The Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, 2075 Bayview Avenue G1 06, Toronto, ON, Canada M4N 3M5; Department of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, The University of Toronto, 155 College Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M5T 3M6; The Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Toronto, 144 College Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 3M2; Keenan Research Centre, The Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, 209 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M5B 1T8.
authors.forename: Tara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gomes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D065128:Endothelin Receptor Antagonists / Q000191:economics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006296:Health Services / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics* / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009864:Ontario / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D065128:Endothelin Receptor Antagonists