Cost-of-illness study in acromegalic patients in Italy

acromegalic therapeutic goals are directed at removing the tumor, preventing tumor re-growth and reducing long-term morbidity and mortality. In this scenario, the acromegalic patient needs a variety of health resources (diagnostic tests, surgery, radiotherapy, specialist visits and drugs) for his/her cure, in order to decrease/stop the progression of the disease and to cure the co-morbid diseases. Lack of epidemiological data has suggested performing an Italian retrospective study aiming to assess the health resource consumption that is caused by acromegalic cure and the relative co-morbidities, in order to estimate the amount of the direct costs of acromegalic patients.

a retrospective study was performed on a total of 134 patients (142 patients selected, 76 in Genoa and 66 in Turin) for a period of about 7 yr preceding the enrolment date. Only direct costs were evaluated by performing an analysis on the perspective of Italian Healthcare Service (SSN).

the mean total direct costs for acromegaly cure ranged from 7,968.41 to 12,533.02 Euros/yr (p < 0.01; Mann Whitney Test), respectively, for Responders and Non-Responders. The cost driver was drug (SS analogs) for acromegalic cure. The co-morbidity conditions associated to acromegalic Non-Responder patients are clearly higher than those with well-controlled disease.

the study supports the hypothesis that controlled patients drove a saving for SSN in comparison to poor control patients that use more health resources.