Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: To assess the clinical and economic impact of sodium zirconium cyclosilicate (SZC) for managing hyperkalemia in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) from the perspective of the Mexican Health System (MHS).
METHODS: SZC reduces the rates of cardiovascular (CV) events and hospitalizations compared with hemodialysis (HD), considering the standard of care (SoC), as a result of lowering serum K+ concentrations in patients with ESRD. A cohort of adult patients was estimated using epidemiological data. Then, the number of CV events and hospitalizations over a one-year time horizon was determined using data from DIALIZE. Direct medical costs associated with CV events, hospitalization and HD were included. Costs were captured from local data and reported in 2025 US dollars. The net economic impact was calculated by comparing the number of clinical events avoided and associated costs for each intervention.
RESULTS: A total of 49,625 patients with HK in ESRD were estimated. Using clinical event rates for each intervention, SZC prevented 1,736 CV events and 4,313 hospitalizations in one year compared to SoC. With the use of SZC, total annual savings of USD$68.70 million per CV events and USD$204.58 million per hospitalizations were estimated. The total annual costs of HD session was USD$ 740.14 million for both interventions. HD costs are common to both arms. SZC use resulted in a total annual savings of USD$273.27 million compared with SoC. These results were consistent in a deterministic sensitivity analysis.
CONCLUSIONS: SZC substantially reduces the economic burden of hyperkalemia in ESRD patients by lowering rates of cardiovascular events and hospitalizations. From the perspective of the Mexican Health System, SZC represents a cost-saving strategy for managing hyperkalemia in this high-risk population.