The main study objective was to calculate direct and indirect costs associated with the Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) in Slovakia. Due to continual increase in CLL prevalence and incidence, it is important to have more accurate insight into CLL overall burden. CLL typically progresses more slowly than other types of leukemia and in 2019 we treated more than 4000 patients.

METHODS :

We performed retrospective analysis of the health insurance and social insurance records from 2015 till 2019 with application of the cost of illness (COI) methodology. COI is a summary of the costs of a particular disease to society. This value includes direct costs of treating the disease and indirect costs such as productivity loss resulting from time off employment, in our case absenteeism and disability. We estimated resource utilisation by health insurance and social insurance companies only, since there is no current CLL patients' registry.

RESULTS

Direct costs including any kind of diagnostics procedures, treatment and/or hospitalisation increased from €8,87 million in 2015 to €13,98 million in 2019. CLL diagnostic procedures were responsible for 64% of all direct costs, treatment costs including pharmacotherapy was responsible for 31% of total costs and 5% attributed to in-patient care (stay in the hospital longer than 48 hours). Indirect costs associated with absenteeism due to CLL climbed from €25 747 in 2015 to €113 781 in 2019 and disability costs climbed from €67 202 in 2015 to €125 833 in 2019. Our estimation is that in 2030 the yearly direct costs will increase to €25,72 million using 5,7% increase rate base on the long term yearly prevalence evolution by WHO.