BCN HEALTH publishes a study evaluating the incidence, management, and associated costs of acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome in Spain

BCN HEALTH has published the study “Epidemiology, management, and economic impact of acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome in Spain at the hospital level: a claims database analysis” in the journal Journal of Medical Economics, an international peer-reviewed journal that publishes economic evaluations of new therapeutic interventions and medical devices, as well as studies assessing therapeutic, preventive, or public health interventions.

BCN HEALTH conducted a retrospective study based on records of patients diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treated in public and private hospitals in Spain between 1997 and 2015, and with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) treated between 2008 and 2017. The objective of this study was to review patient profiles and the epidemiological data available in Spain at the hospital level, and to calculate the associated medical costs.

Records of 39,568 patients diagnosed with AML and 33,091 patients with MDS were identified. Patients with AML had a median age of 65 years; 58% of their hospital visits were associated with emergencies, with a median hospital stay of 14 days. Patients with MDS had a median age of 81 years; 83% of visits were due to emergencies, and the median hospital stay was 7 days.

An increase in the number of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplants in patients with AML or MDS was recorded during the study period. The average annual hospital cost of AML was €30,775 per patient, totaling €66,422,245 annually considering all registered AML patients. These costs were €10,312 and €42,635,313 for patients with MDS. Transplants accounted for an annual cost of €15,843,982 and €2,705,791 considering all patients with AML and MDS, respectively.

More information can be found at https://doi.org/10.1080/13696998.2020.1840180