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Introduction: In addition to the considerable patient and societal burdens, the financial burdens of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) are substantial. Understanding both all-cause and AS-specific direct costs in patients with AS is important if we are to understand the financial impact on patients with AS and payers in the United States. This study assessed both all-cause and AS-specific healthcare utilization and direct costs in US patients with AS using administrative claims data.Methods: Adults aged ≥ 18 years enrolled in the MarketScan® Commercial and Medicare databases with ≥ 1 inpatient or ≥ 2 non-rule-out outpatient diagnoses of AS between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2013, were included. Patients had continuous enrollment with medical and pharmacy benefits for ≥ 12 months before and after the index date (first diagnosis). Non-AS controls were matched up to 5:1 to patients with AS on age, geographic region, index calendar year, and sex. All-cause and AS-specific healthcare utilization and direct costs were measured during the follow-up period and reported as per patient per year.Results: Patients with AS (N = 6679) had significantly higher rates of total all-cause inpatient admission (12% vs 6%), emergency department visits (23% vs 15%), nonhospital-based outpatient visits (100% vs 84%), hospital-based outpatient visits (68% vs 46%), other outpatient services (97% vs 81%), and medication use (97% vs 82%) compared with matched controls (N = 19,951). Patients with AS had approximately tenfold higher median total healthcare costs than matched controls ($24,978 vs $2139 per patient per year), largely driven by increased outpatient and pharmacy costs; P < 0.05 for all comparisons. The median (IQR) total AS-specific healthcare costs were $10,250 ($774, $28,824).Conclusion: In this analysis of claims data, increased outpatient and pharmacy costs were key contributors to higher all-cause total healthcare costs in US patients with AS.Funding: Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, NJ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) are two related forms of systemic vasculitis. Patients with these conditions often experience relapses affecting various body systems. Here we describe rates of relapse and review healthcare costs resulting from relapse among patients with GPA/MPA.Methods: Two groups of patients with GPA and MPA were selected from the MarketScan claims databases between 2011 and 2013 based on diagnosis codes. Patients were followed for 12 months to identify relapses based on an algorithm of diagnoses in medical and medication claims. Relapses were categorized into one of the following groups: renal relapse, pulmonary relapse, other relapse-associated condition relapse, GPA or MPA utilization relapse, and mixed relapse.Results: The final sample of patients with GPA and MPA consisted of 2707 and 740 patients, respectively. In both groups, approximately one-quarter of patients experienced relapse during the 12-month follow-up period. The mean all-cause healthcare costs in the 4-month period after relapse were $38,313 (SD, $54,120) for patients with GPA and $35,947 (SD, $48,065) for patients with MPA. In both groups, renal relapses were the costliest. Costs during the 4 months immediately following relapses were substantially higher than what could be expected over a 4-month follow-up among patients who did not experience relapse based on 12-month all-cause costs (GPA, $32,005 [SD, $64,570]; MPA, $61,044 [SD, $125,093]).Conclusions: Relapses are common among patients with GPA and MPA, and treatment of relapses can be costly. More effective therapies are needed to prevent relapses.Funding: Genentech, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]