BCN HEALTH presents new analyses on hepatitis delta vs. hepatitis B healthcare costs in Spain at EASL ILC 2025
BCN HEALTH participated in the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) International Liver Congress (ILC 2025), which took place in May in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Two new communications were presented evaluating the clinical and economic burden of hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infection compared with hepatitis B virus (HBV) monoinfection among adults in Spain.
The first study, Healthcare resource utilisation and costs associated with hepatitis delta virus infection compared with hepatitis B virus monoinfection prior to death among adults in Spain, analysed real-world data from the Spanish National Health System’s Hospital Discharge Records Database between 2000 and 2019. The study population included adult patients (≥18 years) diagnosed with HDV or HBV, with continuous enrolment for at least 12 months pre- and post-index diagnosis. Healthcare resource utilisation (HCRU) and costs were evaluated during the 12 months prior to death. Results showed that patients with HDV coinfection had significantly higher inpatient length of stay, hospital admissions, outpatient visits, pharmacy claims, and both all-cause and liver-specific healthcare costs compared with HBV monoinfected patients. These findings suggest greater disease severity among HDV patients and highlight the need to reduce the healthcare and economic burden of HDV infection in Spain.
The second study, Healthcare resource utilisation and costs associated with hepatitis delta virus infection compared with hepatitis B virus monoinfection among adults with terminal illness in Spain, focused on patients identified with terminal illness during the study period. Among 64 patients with HDV and 1,168 patients with HBV monoinfection with terminal illness, baseline characteristics were comparable in terms of age and sex distribution. However, HDV patients had significantly higher rates of compensated and decompensated cirrhosis. Consistent with the first analysis, HDV patients incurred greater HCRU and healthcare costs in the last year of life, with liver-related complications being key drivers.
These new analyses confirm and extend prior evidence presented by BCN HEALTH at EASL and AASLD in 2024, reinforcing that HDV coinfection is associated with substantially higher comorbidity burden, resource utilisation, and economic costs compared with HBV monoinfection. Collectively, these findings underline the need for early screening, diagnosis, and treatment of HDV to mitigate disease progression and reduce future clinical and economic burden.