[Pharmacoeconomic analysis: results of the REACH registry]

The REACH registry includes patients from 44 countries with established atherosclerotic disease or at risk of this disease (coronary artery disease [CAD], cerebrovascular disease [CVD] and or peripheral artery disease [PAD]). The country with the largest population included in the registry was the United States, representing 38% of the total number of patients. Spain represented 3.7%. A comparative analysis of the populations from both countries as well as of the clinical management of this disease and its cost was performed. To calculate the mean total costs, drug costs, the costs of hospitalization due to vascular causes and the costs of loss of work productivity were taken into account. One of the most important results obtained after analyzing the REACH registry was the discovery of data showing the economic impact of PAD in patients with CAD or CVD. Patients with more than one diseased vascular bed had a higher associated healthcare cost due to an increase in both drug costs and hospitalization costs. Indirect costs could not be estimated for all groups. The differences in total mean costs between treating polyvascular disease and treating a single diseased vascular bed were much higher in the United States for patients with CAD + PAD vs. CAD and were much higher in Spain for patients with CVD + PAD vs. CVD. Analysis of the results of the REACH registry allows us to conclude that the presence of PAD together with CAD or CVD worsens patients' prognosis, which translates into a substantial increase in the cost of treatment, representing a greater economic burden for the Spanish national health system.