OBJECTIVES: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a fatal lung disease, characterized by worsening dyspnea and progressive decline in lung function. Although IPF is a rare disease, many studies have demonstrated that it has significant economic burden. To our knowledge, no economic burden studies on IPF in China have been published. This study aims to estimate the healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and costs associated with IPF management in China.

METHODS: The study used Electronic Medical Records (EMR) data during January 1^st, 2012 to April 30^th, 2018 from four tertiary hospitals representing the Eastern, Southern, Northern and Western China. IPF patients were identified by ICD-10 code as well as text description in the discharge diagnosis. Patient demographics, IPF HCRU, hospitalization cost for IPF with comorbidities were collected and summarized.

RESULTS: Interim analyses of three of the four tertiary hospitals including 270 IPF patients (average age 64.60 (SD: 9.78), 86.67% male) was conducted. Those IPF patients had 370 hospitalizations, and 81.48% of patients had one hospitalization. Median length of stay was 8 days (IQR, 4–12 days). Median and mean cost per hospitalization was ¥11,992 (IQR, ¥8,086–20,112) and ¥17,041, respectively. Most common comorbidities for IPF patients were respiratory tract infection (18.98%) and respiratory failure (18.42%), followed by coronary heart disease (9.59%), pulmonary hypertension (5.45%), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (4.89%).

Costs per hospitalization of IPF patients with respiratory failure are the highest ¥27,393 (IQR, ¥18,883–48,126) comparing with other comorbidities. Overall costs per hospitalization were higher for IPF patients with more complications than those with fewer (P<0.05). Final data of all four tertiary hospitals will be presented at the conference.

CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the costs of hospitalization for IPF are very high especially for IPF patients with comorbidities using real-world EMR data in China.