MEDICAL COSTS AND HEALTHCARE RESOURCE UTILIZATION AMONG JAPANESE EPILEPSY PATIENTS WITH AND WITHOUT FREQUENT SEIZURE-RELATED EMERGENCIES: A COMPARATIVE DATABASE STUDY
Author(s)
Eiko Yamamura, MA1, Cedric Laloyaux, PhD2, Yasumasa Yoshiki, MPH1, Kazuhiko Tawara, PhD1, Renata Majewska, MSc3, Akiho Terasawa, MHS1, Izumi Mishiro, BA1, Kensuke Kawai, MD, PhD4.
1UCB, Tokyo, Japan, 2UCB, Brussels, Belgium, 3Inizio Ignite Putnam, Krakow, Poland, 4Department of Neurosurgery, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan.
1UCB, Tokyo, Japan, 2UCB, Brussels, Belgium, 3Inizio Ignite Putnam, Krakow, Poland, 4Department of Neurosurgery, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan.
OBJECTIVES: To assess healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and direct medical costs associated with frequent seizure-related emergencies (fSE) compared with matched patients without fSE among Japanese patients with epilepsy.
METHODS: This retrospective study used JMDC (Employees’ health insurance) and DeSC (National health insurance/Late-stage elderly healthcare system) claims data (2016 - 2024). Incident patients with active epilepsy and ≥12-month look-back and follow-up were included. fSE was defined as ≥2 seizure-related hospitalizations or emergency visits within 12 months, starting 6 months after the initial epilepsy diagnosis. Propensity score matching (1:2 ratio) balanced age, sex, diagnosis year, and baseline costs. The index date was the first seizure-related event in fSE group and the same date for matched controls. Analyses were stratified by insurance type and age (<18, 18 - 64, ≥65 years). HCRU and costs (payer + patients) were assessed during 12 months pre- and post-index.
RESULTS: Among 41,241 incident epilepsy patients, 2,777 with fSE were matched to 4,586 non-fSE patients. Across all cohorts, fSE patients had over 4-fold higher total and 5-fold higher epilepsy-related costs and consistently higher HCRU, including over 2-fold higher anti-seizure medication use, about 4-fold higher hospitalization rates, longer hospital stays, and more outpatient visits than those from non-fSE group (p<0.001). Follow-up costs increased in the fSE group but decreased in the non-fSE group compared to baseline ones, widening the gap to more than 4-fold. Costs and resource use increased with the number of seizure-related emergencies.
CONCLUSIONS: Patients with fSE incur substantially higher costs and healthcare utilization across all cohorts than patients without fSE. These findings highlight the need for early identification and better management of patients with fSE, which could reduce the burden of seizure-related events for both patients/caregivers as well as HCP. Funding: UCB
METHODS: This retrospective study used JMDC (Employees’ health insurance) and DeSC (National health insurance/Late-stage elderly healthcare system) claims data (2016 - 2024). Incident patients with active epilepsy and ≥12-month look-back and follow-up were included. fSE was defined as ≥2 seizure-related hospitalizations or emergency visits within 12 months, starting 6 months after the initial epilepsy diagnosis. Propensity score matching (1:2 ratio) balanced age, sex, diagnosis year, and baseline costs. The index date was the first seizure-related event in fSE group and the same date for matched controls. Analyses were stratified by insurance type and age (<18, 18 - 64, ≥65 years). HCRU and costs (payer + patients) were assessed during 12 months pre- and post-index.
RESULTS: Among 41,241 incident epilepsy patients, 2,777 with fSE were matched to 4,586 non-fSE patients. Across all cohorts, fSE patients had over 4-fold higher total and 5-fold higher epilepsy-related costs and consistently higher HCRU, including over 2-fold higher anti-seizure medication use, about 4-fold higher hospitalization rates, longer hospital stays, and more outpatient visits than those from non-fSE group (p<0.001). Follow-up costs increased in the fSE group but decreased in the non-fSE group compared to baseline ones, widening the gap to more than 4-fold. Costs and resource use increased with the number of seizure-related emergencies.
CONCLUSIONS: Patients with fSE incur substantially higher costs and healthcare utilization across all cohorts than patients without fSE. These findings highlight the need for early identification and better management of patients with fSE, which could reduce the burden of seizure-related events for both patients/caregivers as well as HCP. Funding: UCB
Conference/Value in Health Info
2026-11, ISPOR Europe 2026, Vienna, Austria
Value in Health, Volume 29, Issue 12S
Code
HPR14
Topic
Health Policy & Regulatory, Health Service Delivery & Process of Care
Topic Subcategory
Public Spending & National Health Expenditures
Disease
Neurological Disorders