OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the hospital incidence and mortality rate of polycythemia vera (PV) in Spain, and to estimate hospital medical costs.

METHODS: Hospital admission records of patients with PV registered between 2005 and 2019 were obtained from a Spanish hospital discharge database and analyzed in a retrospective multicenter study. Patients with PV were identified by means of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 9th version (ICD-9) and 10th version (ICD-10) codes. Hospital incidence was calculated as the annual number of patients with PV within the total number of admission files in the database. Hospital mortality was measured as the number of patients deceased during the hospitalization by the total patients admitted with the disease. Direct medical costs included all expenses related to the admission.

RESULTS: Admission files of 490 patients were reviewed. Median age was 74 years; patients presented numerous conditions associated to age, namely hypertension, diabetes or anemia. Hospital mortality rate was 13.2% over the study period and it was associated to pulmonary heart disease, respiratory conditions and kidney disease. Hospital incidence was 0.7 per 100,000 persons the year 2019 and decreased significantly over the study period in patients over 60 years (p<0.0001). Median admission cost was €5580, increasing in patients deceased during the hospitalization. Length of hospital stay influenced admission cost for all patients, except for deceased patients. Admission cost increased significantly between 2006 and 2011 in patients over 60 years of age, however, it decreased in patients aged 60 years and younger.

CONCLUSIONS: This study provides an evaluation of hospital management and costs of PV in Spain. Future studies should focus on the revision of disease management in the country and measuring total medical costs, which could be higher than global estimations.