Impact of hepatitis C on resource use and costs of patients with liver cirrhosis in the Brazilian public healthcare system (SUS)

Abstract

Objective: Evaluate resource consumption related to the treatment of cirrhotic patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 (G1) and compare to patients with cirrhosis not related to HCV in the Brazilian public healthcare system (SUS). Methods: Hospitalizations for the diagnosis of cirrhosis were obtained from DatasSUS between 2008 and 2012. Among these hospitalizations, patients with a history of treatment with pegylated interferon in the same period were evaluated, to identify patients with previous HCV G1, as defined by the Clinical Protocol and Therapeutic Guideline (PCDT) from SUS. The cohorts of patients with or without previous HCV (CH+HCV and CH-HCV) were followed for 60 months and compared in terms of resource use. For the economic evaluation, unit costs of medications were analyzed based on the Government Procurement Portal and costs of hospitalization from DataSUS. Results: Hospitalization expenditures of cirrhotic patients totaled approximately R$108 million in 2012, with an increase of 75% in spending compared to 2008. Most patients admitted for CH with or without HCV were between the ages of 45 and 64 years, with a mean age of 52 years and were mostly male. Approximately 5% of patients CH-HCV received liver transplantation compared to 7% of patients CH+HCV. Costs related to transplantation in the CH+HCV population accounted for 78% of the total cost compared to 67% among CH-HCV patients, being the average transplantation cost 17% higher in patients CH+HCV when compared to the population without HCV. Conclusion: Hospitalization costs among cirrhotic patients with or without prior treatment of HCV showed a different distribution and differences were significant for the SUS perspective.