OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to describe a cohort of patients with Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS) in terms of clinical burden of disease, Healthcare Resource Utilization and associated direct and indirect costs.

METHODS: This was an Italian, multicenter, cross-sectional observational hybrid study that involved both primary data collection and secondary use of administrative data, where patients aged 18 or older were enrolled from September 2022 to September 2023 in four dermatology centers. Medical records and Patient Reported Outcomes collected at enrolment visit were integrated with existing claims data from Local Health Units covering the 36-month period before enrolment using exact patient linkage. This innovative methodology of combining multiple data sources allowed to provide a multifaceted overview of the HS population in Italy.

RESULTS: Out of 50 enrolled patients in the study, 48 were eligible: mean (SD) age at enrolment was 35.1 (14.7) years, 28 were males (58.3%), while 27 (56.3%) patients had moderate or severe HS (based on Hurley system). In terms of Quality of life (QoL), HS had a moderate to extreme impact for two-thirds of the patients (n=32), with median Dermatology Life Quality Index equal to 8. The overall mean (SD) direct and indirect costs per patient in the 12 months preceding enrolment were respectively 2,194€ (3,650€) and 1,490 € (4,068 €), whereas they were 3,034€ (4,483€) and 2,435€ (5,223€) in those with moderate/severe HS.

CONCLUSIONS: This first Italian hybrid study in dermatology provided a comprehensive evaluation of the burden of HS both from a psychosocial and economic perspective, which was not available at Italian level until now. These results highlight the impact of the severity of the disease on patients’ well-being and costs, underlying that there are still significant unmet needs in the management of HS. Further research on current HS treatment is warranted.