REAL-WORLD HEALTHCARE RESOURCE UTILIZATION AND TREATMENT PATTERNS AMONG PATIENTS WITH HIDRADENITIS SUPPURATIVA IN CANADA USING AI-EXTRACTED DATA
Author(s)
Melinda Gooderham, MD1, Hermenio Lima, MD2, Irina Turchin, MD3, Darina Frieder, PhD4, Jonatan Freilich, PhD5, Dionysis Spanopoulos, PhD6, Priyanka Deep, PhD4, Ruth Moulson, MPH7, Christopher Pettengell, MD7, Ron Vender, MD8.
1SKiN Centre for Dermatology, Peterborough, ON, Canada, 2LEADER Research, Hamilton, ON, Canada, 3Brunswick Dermatology Center, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada; Probity Medical Research, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada; Department of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada, 4UCB, Oakville, ON, Canada, 5UCB, Brussels, Belgium, 6UCB, Slough, United Kingdom, 7Pentavere Research Group, Toronto, ON, Canada, 8McMaster University and Dermatrials Research Inc, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
1SKiN Centre for Dermatology, Peterborough, ON, Canada, 2LEADER Research, Hamilton, ON, Canada, 3Brunswick Dermatology Center, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada; Probity Medical Research, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada; Department of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada, 4UCB, Oakville, ON, Canada, 5UCB, Brussels, Belgium, 6UCB, Slough, United Kingdom, 7Pentavere Research Group, Toronto, ON, Canada, 8McMaster University and Dermatrials Research Inc, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
OBJECTIVES: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a skin disorder with substantial clinical and economic burden, yet Canadian health economic data remain limited. Using the Epidemiology and Treatment of Hidradenitis Suppurativa in Canada (ETHiC) study, the largest longitudinal real-world dataset of HS patients from Canadian community dermatology clinics, we describe the healthcare resource utilization (HCRU), medication usage, and surgical procedures of patients with HS.
METHODS: ETHiC is a retrospective cohort study using electronic health records from 11 Canadian community dermatology clinics representative of national dermatology care. Adults (≥18 years) with dermatologist‑confirmed HS between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2024, were included. Clinical variables were abstracted using the validated artificial intelligence platform DARWEN™. HCRU outcomes were assessed between January and December 2024 among patients with ≥1 dermatologist visit during 2024.
RESULTS: Between 2016 and 2024, HS accounted for 4.6% of all dermatological patients, rising from 4.1% in 2016 to 9.5% in 2024. In 2024, the mean number of dermatologist visits per patient increased with HS severity (mild: 2.2; moderate: 2.7; severe: 3.5). Deroofing procedures occurred more often among patients with severe disease (mild: 14.7%; moderate: 19.0%; severe: 21.3%), with the highest mean procedures per patient in severe disease (mild: 1.3; moderate: 1.3; severe: 1.5). Overall, 74.0% of patients received HS treatment; however, only 33.3% of patients with moderate disease and 57.4% of those with severe disease received biologics, most commonly adalimumab. Among patients with available intended maintenance dosing frequency, 28.1% received 80 mg dosing and >90% were treated weekly.
CONCLUSIONS: HS accounts for a growing share of dermatology caseloads, with severe disease associated with higher HCRU across dermatology visits, treatment use, and procedures. While biologic use was limited, weekly 80 mg adalimumab dosing may suggest inadequate disease control with standard dosing and highlights a gap in the disease management of severe HS.
METHODS: ETHiC is a retrospective cohort study using electronic health records from 11 Canadian community dermatology clinics representative of national dermatology care. Adults (≥18 years) with dermatologist‑confirmed HS between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2024, were included. Clinical variables were abstracted using the validated artificial intelligence platform DARWEN™. HCRU outcomes were assessed between January and December 2024 among patients with ≥1 dermatologist visit during 2024.
RESULTS: Between 2016 and 2024, HS accounted for 4.6% of all dermatological patients, rising from 4.1% in 2016 to 9.5% in 2024. In 2024, the mean number of dermatologist visits per patient increased with HS severity (mild: 2.2; moderate: 2.7; severe: 3.5). Deroofing procedures occurred more often among patients with severe disease (mild: 14.7%; moderate: 19.0%; severe: 21.3%), with the highest mean procedures per patient in severe disease (mild: 1.3; moderate: 1.3; severe: 1.5). Overall, 74.0% of patients received HS treatment; however, only 33.3% of patients with moderate disease and 57.4% of those with severe disease received biologics, most commonly adalimumab. Among patients with available intended maintenance dosing frequency, 28.1% received 80 mg dosing and >90% were treated weekly.
CONCLUSIONS: HS accounts for a growing share of dermatology caseloads, with severe disease associated with higher HCRU across dermatology visits, treatment use, and procedures. While biologic use was limited, weekly 80 mg adalimumab dosing may suggest inadequate disease control with standard dosing and highlights a gap in the disease management of severe HS.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2026-11, ISPOR Europe 2026, Vienna, Austria
Value in Health, Volume 29, Issue 12S
Code
RWD70
Topic
Real World Data & Information Systems
Topic Subcategory
Health & Insurance Records Systems
Disease
Sensory System Disorders (Ear, Eye, Dental, Skin)