Hospitalizations potentially attributable to Influenza: data from the Brazilian Private Healthcare System Perspective

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate, through real-world data, hospitalizations attributed to influenza or potentially attributed to influenza and their costs in a health insurance from the Brazilian Private Healthcare System. Methods: Retrospective study conducted between September 2016 and August 2019 in a health insurance database to assess the hospitalization profile for three disease groups: influenza/pneumonia, other respiratory diseases and cardiovascular diseases. Absolute numbers of hospitalizations for each group were extracted, as well as hospitalization rate, rehospitalization rate, total costs and average cost per patient. Results: There were 1,047 hospitalizations for influenza/ pneumonia, 148 for other respiratory diseases and 1,773 for cardiovascular diseases. Higher hospitalization rates occurred for cardiovascular disease, followed by influenza/pneumonia. R$ 54.5 million, R$ 32.4 million, and R$ 4.1 million were spent on hospitalizations attributed to cardiovascular disease, influenza/pneumonia and other respiratory diseases, respectively. The highest average cost per hospitalization, per patient, was observed for influenza/pneumonia (R$ 30,952), followed by cardiovascular disease (R$ 30,740) and other respiratory diseases (R$ 27,661). A higher number of hospitalizations at older ages was observed, as well as higher costs, representing 81.6% to 92.0% of the total hospitalization costs for all age groups. Conclusions: Influenza and diseases potentially attributed to influenza, including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, are responsible for relevant clinical and economic impacts. Higher hospitalization costs were associated with older age groups. Interventions to minimize the impact of influenza such as vaccination are very relevant to promote a cost reduction and should be considered by health managers.