Description of annual direct medical cost of active SLE patients by disease severity
| Patients’ healthcare consumption (annual) | Severe patients (n=212) | Non-severe patients (n=215) | p Value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | %* | Mean | %* | ||
| Total annual cost (€) | 4748 | 2650 | <0.001 | ||
| Laboratory tests (€) | |||||
| Any test | 330 | 6.9 | 236 | 8.9 | <0.001 |
| Immunological tests | 119 | 2.5 | 93 | 3.5 | <0.001 |
| Blood chemistry tests | 138 | 2.9 | 99 | 3.8 | <0.001 |
| Haematology tests | 50 | 1.1 | 31 | 1.2 | 0.035 |
| Other biological test | 22 | 0.5 | 13 | 0.47 | <0.001 |
| Biopsies and imaging tests (€) | |||||
| Any test | 257 | 5.4 | 124 | 4.7 | <0.001 |
| Biopsies | 123 | 2.6 | 25 | 0.95 | <0.001 |
| Imaging test | 134 | 2.8 | 99 | 3.7 | 0.004 |
| Medication (€) | |||||
| Any medication | 2518 | 53.0 | 1251 | 47.2 | <0.001 |
| NSAIDS | 6.6 | 0.1 | 10.3 | 0.39 | 0.071 |
| Corticosteroids | 131 | 2.8 | 65 | 2.4 | <0.001 |
| Antimalarials | 68 | 1.4 | 76 | 2.9 | 0.389 |
| Immunosuppressants | 1586 | 33.4 | 549 | 20.7 | <0.001 |
| Biologics | 367 | 7.7 | 137 | 5.2 | <0.001 |
| Anti-osteoporosis drugs | 269 | 5.7 | 246 | 9.3 | 0.353 |
| Other treatments | 90 | 1.9 | 168 | 6.3 | 0.615 |
| Specialist visits (€) | |||||
| Any visits | 396 | 8.4 | 322 | 12.1 | 0.069 |
| Dermatologist | 6.4 | 0.14 | 9.4 | 0.35 | 0.506 |
| Ophthalmologist | 10.3 | 0.22 | 14.7 | 0.56 | 0.224 |
| Rheumatologist | 187 | 4.0 | 180 | 6.8 | 0.712 |
| Pulmonologist | 3.6 | 0.07 | 5.1 | 0.19 | 0.711 |
| Cardiologist | 4.5 | 0.09 | 6.0 | 0.23 | 0.959 |
| Neurologist | 11 | 0.24 | 5.2 | 0.20 | 0.136 |
| Nephrologist | 31 | 0.66 | 9.8 | 0.37 | <0.001 |
| Psychiatrist | 3.8 | 0.08 | 1.4 | 0.05 | 0.625 |
| Internist | 100 | 2.1 | 63 | 2.8 | 0.172 |
| Surgical visit(s) | 7.5 | 0.16 | 6.9 | 0.26 | 0.400 |
| Other visits | 31 | 0.65 | 20 | 0.76 | 0.921 |
| Hospitalisations | 1247 | 26.3 | 718 | 27.1 | <0.001 |
| Outpatient visits (€) (only for UK) | |||||
| Any visit | 16.6 | 0.35 | 7.0 | 0.26 | 0.115 |
| Without physician | 10.1 | 0.21 | 5.3 | 0.20 | 0.314 |
| With physician | 6.5 | 0.14 | 1.7 | 0.06 | 0.077 |
| Day hospitalisation/day surgery (€) | 53 | 1.1 | 40 | 1.5 | 0.057 |
| Emergency room visits (€) | 10 | 0.21 | 14.0 | 0.53 | 0.390 |
| Inpatient stays (€) | 1160 | 24.4 | 645 | 24.3 | <0.001 |
| Rehabilitation stays (€) | 8.1 | 0.17 | 12.1 | 0.46 | 0.785 |
*Percentage calculated as mean cost of each health resource with respect to global costs in each severity group and for overall study sample.
Percentages were calculated using the number of valid data.
SLE, systemic lupus erythematosus.