OBJECTIVES: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is considered as a rare disease and CHB-related information in South Korea is not well documented. We used claims database from 2011 to 2018 to investigate healthcare resource use, and the prescription treatment trend among CHB-treated patients.

METHODS: Data from the 2011 to 2018 Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service-National Patients Sample (HIRA-NPS) of South Korea were used. CHB-treated patients 20 years old and above who have been prescribed CHB treatment at least once within the year were included in this study. Patient characteristics (age, gender) and outpatient visits, hospitalization rates, medical costs, and use of CHB treatments were analyzed.

RESULTS: Over the past eight years, the number of CHB-treated patients has increased by 4% to 10% every year; from 2011 (N=159,865) to 2018 (N=259,264). The proportion of total treated patients over each gender were consistently higher in males (64% to 66%) than in females (32% to 34%) each year. In addition, the proportion of patients over 50 increased gradually (49% in year 2011 to 60% in year 2018). In 2011, the most prescribed CHB treatment prescriptions by molecule was entecavir (53%) followed by adefovir (19%), and lamivudine (16%). In 2018, tenofovir (50%) had the highest rate of CHB treatment prescriptions and the following were entecavir (40%), and adefovir (4%). CHB treatment cost per patient showed an increasing trend from 2011 (1,625,78 Korean won [KRW]) to 2014 (1,757,866 KRW) and then gradually decreased from 2015 (1,632,239 KRW) to 2018 (1,215,363 KRW).

CONCLUSIONS: The number of CHB-treated patients has been steadily increasing each year. In particular, the proportion of those in their 50s or older has been observed to increase. CHB treatment cost per patient has been decreasing in recent years and the trend of the CHB treatment prescription has showed a significant change.