DISCREPANCIES IN HOSPITALIZATION TRENDS BY EPILEPSY AMONG THREE LATIN AMERICA COUNTRIES
Author(s)
Soares C, Viana KP, Santana PK, Figueiredo D, Machado MGlaxoSmithKline, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Presentation Documents
OBJECTIVES: Epilepsy has been the focus of several primary care programs across Latin America region due to its high prevalence and related burden. Hospitalization could be used as an indicator for frequency of more severe cases with uncontrolled and frequent seizures. Thus, hospital admission trends could be instrumental to understanding treatment gaps and support decision making. Our objective was to evaluate hospital admission trend by Epilepsy in three Latin America Countries. METHODS: Hospitalization data were extracted from Public Healthcare Databases from Brazil, Chile and Mexico covering 2001-2008. Country and age-specific hospital admission frequencies due to Epilepsy (ICD G40) in people >14 years-old were calculated. Three age range categories were created: 15-29; 30-44; 45-59 and >60. We built general estimating equation models with Poisson distributions to evaluate hospital admissions time trends. Further, the differences between the age ranges were also estimated. RESULTS: Means of annual hospitalization rates were similar in Brazil and Chile (2.63 and 2.79, respectively) but comparatively low in Mexico (0.39). The three countries showed different in-hospital patterns over time. Brazil had a downward tendency with an annual ratio of 0.982 (p<0.001) and Chile a relatively flat one (p=NS). On the other hand, Mexico presented an upward trend, with an annual ratio of 1.043 (p<0.001). Mean hospitalization rates were higher in older age categories in Brazil and Chile and the younger ones in Mexico. The age categories were following the trends showed by their respective countries in the overall analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Despite having qualitatively similar assistance programs across the region, the countries showed different rates and patterns of hospitalization due to Epilepsy. Direct comparison between countries should be examined cautiously due to important differences in their health care systems and data collection process.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2012-06, ISPOR 2012, Washington, D.C., USA
Value in Health, Vol. 15, No. 4 (June 2012)
Code
PND53
Topic
Health Policy & Regulatory
Topic Subcategory
Health Disparities & Equity
Disease
Neurological Disorders