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Hyperphosphatemia is an electrolyte disorder highly prevalent in patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing hemodialysis (HD) that usually requires treatment with oral phosphate binders (PBs). Sucroferric oxyhydroxide (SO) is a calcium-free, iron-based PB indicated for the control of serum phosphorus. In the real-world setting, SO has shown clinical effectiveness with a lower pill burden and has also been associated with reduced hospital admission rates. This study aims to assess the potential economic benefits resulting from the introduction of SO to the health-care setting of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). An economic analysis using data from a retrospective real-world study that compared HD patients with uninterrupted SO prescriptions with patients who discontinued SO and switched to other PBs (oPBs). Annual drug costs for the estimated PB-eligible population in KSA were quantified. Costs per responder were estimated for all treatments. Hospital admissions' incidence rates were converted into annual inpatient cost savings and were deducted from drug costs to estimate the annual economic effect of SO versus oPBs. Sensitivity and breakeven analyses were also conducted. The eligible population for PB therapy in KSA was estimated at n = 14,748. Treating therapy-eligible populations exclusively with SO was estimated to generate annual inpatient cost-savings of SAR 107.4-119.4 million compared to treating the population with oPBs. The estimated economic effect signified overall annual savings ranging from SAR 82.8 to SAR 94.8 million when the population is treated with SO. Sensitivity analyses showed persistent cost savings. The estimated benefit-cost ratios showed that for every SAR 1 spent on SO, the expected return on investment was SAR 4.4-4.9. SO is an effective therapy that may result in substantial cost savings from reducing hospital admission costs that are attributable to hyperphosphatemia among HD patients., (Copyright © 2023 Copyright: © 2023 Saudi Journal of Kidney Diseases and Transplantation.)

Objectives: To assess phosphate binders' usage, knowledge regarding their utilization, and adherence among hemodialysis patients in Qassim, Saudi Arabia., Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study conducted at 4 dialysis centers in Qassim, Saudi Arabia with inclusion of 237 patients' undergoing hemodialysis between November 2018 to January 2019. The study involved interviewing the patients, reviewing their medical records for biomarkers used to assess kidney function, and assessing the patients' knowledge-based regarding dietary phosphate control, as well as adherence to phosphate binders' usage. Results: Out of 237 included patients, male to female ratio was 54:46. The prevalence of prescribing non- calcium phosphate binders was 82.7% whereas prescribing calcium phosphate binders was 73.8%. A total of 63% of patients showed a medium level of adherence to phosphate binders. Although adherence level was not poor, therapeutic eficacy was affected by other factors such as administration time adherence positively correlated with the serum phosphate level (p=0.00)., Conclusion: Phosphate binders usage is frequent among hemodialysis patients in Qassim centers. Circulating phosphate level was affected by the extent of patients' knowledge of dietary control and adherence to the usage of phosphate binders. Thus, we recommend enhancing patient education in reference to high- and low- phosphate-rich diet to take wise dietary decisions, lower pill burden, and improve adherence toward the control of hyperphosphatemia.