title: Cost Evaluation of Dried Blood Spot Home Sampling as Compared to Conventional Sampling for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring in Children.
abstract: Dried blood spot (DBS) sampling for the purpose of therapeutic drug monitoring can be an attractive alternative for conventional blood sampling, especially in children. This study aimed to compare all costs involved in conventional sampling versus DBS home sampling in two pediatric populations: renal transplant patients and hemato-oncology patients. Total costs were computed from a societal perspective by adding up healthcare cost, patient related costs and costs related to loss of productivity of the caregiver. Switching to DBS home sampling was associated with a cost reduction of 43% for hemato-oncology patients (€277 to €158) and 61% for nephrology patients (€259 to €102) from a societal perspective (total costs) per blood draw. From a healthcare perspective, costs reduced with 7% for hemato-oncology patients and with 21% for nephrology patients. Total savings depend on the number of hospital visits that can be avoided by using home sampling instead of conventional sampling.
authors.affiliation: Radboud university medical center, Department of Pharmacy, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.|Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Lisa C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Martial
authors.affiliation: Radboud university medical center, Department of Pharmacy, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.|Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Rob E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Aarnoutse
authors.affiliation: Radboudumc Amalia Children's Hospital, Radboud university medical center, Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Michiel F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Schreuder
authors.affiliation: Radboudumc Amalia Children's Hospital, Radboud university medical center, Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Stefanie S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Henriet
authors.affiliation: Radboud university medical center, Department of Pharmacy, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.|Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Roger J M
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Brüggemann
authors.affiliation: Maastricht University Medical Center, Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Medical Technology Assessment (KEMTA), Maastricht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Manuela A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Joore
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D059788:Dried Blood Spot Testing / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D016903:Drug Monitoring; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans