OBJECTIVES : Arterial embolism and thrombosis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in developing and in industrialized regions. The aim of our study was to calculate the annual health insurance treatment cost of arterial embolism and thrombosis in Hungary.

METHODS : The data were derived from the financial database of the Hungarian National Health Insurance Fund Administration (NHIFA), the only health care financing agency in Hungary. We analyzed the number of patients and the health insurance treatment cost for the year 2018. The following cost categories were included into the study: out-patient care, laboratory diagnostics, medical imaging, acute in-patient care, chronic in-patient care and drugs. Patients with arterial embolism and thrombosis were identified with the following codes of the International Classification of Diseases 10^threvision: I-74.

RESULTS : The number of patients admitted to inpatient care was 9,517 (58.8% men and 41.2% women) with a mean age of 68.37 years (men: 66.73 years; women: 70.70 years). Number of patients underwent out-patient hospital care was 33,230 (59.6 % men and 40.4% women) with a mean age of 67.55 years (men: 66.53 years; women: 69.06 years). For the treatment of patients with arterial embolism and thrombosisin 2018 the Hungarian National Health Insurance Fund Administration spent 9.267 billion Hungarian Forint (HUF) which equals 29.062 million Euros (EUR) or 34.291 million American Dollars (USD). Major cost drivers were acute inpatient care (80.9% of total health insurance costs), medical imaging (11.7%) and pharmaceuticals (3.0%).

CONCLUSIONS : Arterial embolism and thrombosisrepresent a significant burden for the Hungarian health insurance system. The disease is slightly more common in men compared to women. There is no significant difference (2-3 years) in the onset of the disease between women and men.