Burden of Illness and Healthcare Resource Utilization (HCRU) for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in Ontario, Canada

Author(s)

Kirsten Garces, BSc1, Erik Orava, PhD1, Marroon Thabane, PhD1, Ginnie Ng, PhD2;
1Sanofi-aventis Canada Inc., North York, ON, Canada, 2IQVIA Solutions Canada Inc., Mississauga, ON, Canada
OBJECTIVES: The primary objectives were to characterize the demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with COPD in Ontario during their first exacerbation and describe the HCRU and direct healthcare costs incurred during the 12-month period following an exacerbation.
METHODS: A retrospective observational study was conducted using health administrative data at ICES. Patients were included if they were diagnosed with COPD, used triple therapy (inhaled corticosteroids + long-acting muscarinic antagonist + long-acting β2-agonist), had evidence of type 2 inflammation (eosinophil count ≥300 cells/µL), and had ≥1 eligible COPD exacerbation between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2022. All eligible exacerbations were indexed and categorized as moderate (≥1 oral corticosteroid claim) or severe (≥1 hospitalization or ER visit). A subgroup of patients without asthma was then identified for analysis. HCRU and costs (standardized to 2023 Canadian dollars) incurred in the year following an exacerbation were reported descriptively.
RESULTS: Among 14,555 patients with COPD without asthma who were included, 3,678 first had a moderate indexed exacerbation and 10,877 first had a severe indexed exacerbation. There were 19,289 indexed exacerbations in total, of which 5,003 were moderate and 14,286 were severe. In the year following patients’ first indexed exacerbation, 6,979 experienced at least 1 additional exacerbation. On average, patients experienced 1.0 moderate and 0.5 severe exacerbations over the next 12 months. Further, in the year following an exacerbation, patients had a mean of 88.7 healthcare touchpoints (moderate exacerbations: 65.1; severe exacerbations: 97.0) and incurred a mean cost of $29,665 (moderate: $14,625; severe: $34,932). Home care and physician visits were the most used HCRU categories, and inpatient hospitalization was the greatest cost category.
CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms that patients with COPD without asthma continue to experience exacerbations despite being on the current standard of care. Moreover, severe exacerbations had higher HCRU and costs compared to moderate events.

Conference/Value in Health Info

2025-05, ISPOR 2025, Montréal, Quebec, CA

Value in Health, Volume 28, Issue S1

Code

RWD53

Topic

Real World Data & Information Systems

Disease

No Additional Disease & Conditions/Specialized Treatment Areas, SDC: Respiratory-Related Disorders (Allergy, Asthma, Smoking, Other Respiratory)

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