[The fees of patients with knee osteoarthritis]

Objective: To assess the cost of illness, the current medication treatment status and health service utilization of patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Methods: From January 2014 to May 2015, 250 patients in Arthritis Clinic and Research Center, Peking University People's Hospital were recruited and followed up for 12 months. There were four visits during the follow-up, i. e. baseline, 1, 6 and 12 month. Data on sociodemographic variables, direct cost of illness, medication utilization and health service utilization were obtained by the questionnaire for the analyses. Results: Two hundred and twelve participants had accomplished the 12-month follow-up. The direct cost of knee OA was (8 858±5 120) yuan per year , median number was 7 020 yuan. Medical-related cost was (7 184±4 890) yuan per year , median number was 5 420 yuan; comprising 81.1% of the direct cost, whereas the non-medical related cost was( 1 674±924) yuan(RMB) per year , median number (1 239) yuan, comprising 18.9% of the direct cost. The medication cost was (5 484±3 510) yuan , median number was 4 046 yuan, accounting for the largest proportion (76.3%) of the medical-related cost. As for the medication utilization, glucosamine was most commonly prescribed (64.8%), followed by the Chinese herbals (61.2%) and NSAIDs (48.8%). The average amount of the hospital-visit per year was (11.8±4.1). Most knee OA patients (68.8%) took the tertiary care hospital as their first choice when they consulted orthopedists or physicians for OA. Conclusion: The direct cost of OA patients is considerable. OA patients may take medicine blindly and not follow the current guidelines. The prevention and treatment of OA needs to be further standardized in the future.