BCN HEALTH presents three communications at the ISPOR Europe congress in Barcelona from 17 to 20 November.

BCN HEALTH , presents the poster “Prostate cancer in Spain: A retrospective database analysis of hospital incidence and the direct medical costs” about a retrospective study that included records of prostate cancer patients admitted to hospitals in Spain between June 2016 and December 2020. The objectives of the study were to review the characteristics of patients admitted with prostate cancer in Spanish hospitals, as well as the comorbidities of these patients and to measure the associated direct medical costs from the perspective of the National Health System. This study included 8,218 patients, with a mean age of 72 years. The mean CCI was 4, with almost 50% of patients diagnosed with hypertension, 37% with COPD and 35% with hyperlipidaemia. The annual cost per patient was €5,212.98. This study provides new data on the medical costs of prostate cancer in Spain, providing a basis for revising resource allocation decisions to reduce the burden of this condition at the health system level. 

The poster “Incidence and medical costs of lupus in Spanish hospitals: a retrospective database analysis” shows the results of the analysis of 329 records of lupus patients in Spain extracted from a database containing records from 192 private and 313 public centres from 1997 to 2020. The aim of this study was to assess the characteristics of patients diagnosed with lupus, measure the incidence in the hospital setting and the associated medical costs in Spain between 2016 and 2020. The median age was 55 years and 64% of patients were women. The data corresponded mainly to emergency admissions, with a median length of stay of 7 days. The results of the study highlight that the hospital incidence has decreased between 2016 and 2020, and that mortality in this period was almost 4%. 

Finally, the poster “Incidence and medical costs of chronic obstructive respiratory disease in Spanish hospitals: a retrospective database analysis” summarises the results obtained after analysing data on patients diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Spain between 2016 and 2020. The data were obtained from a database of the Ministry of Health. The aim of this study is to assess the comorbidity profile, health resource use and medical costs of COPD in Spain. The study included 95,140 patients, with a mean age of 75 years, of whom 69% were men. Severe exacerbation was diagnosed in 93% of admitted patients. Associated comorbidities were respiratory failure, hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia and diabetes. The in-hospital mortality rate was 4.1% during the study period. This study provides an assessment of the management and hospital costs of COPD in Spain. Future studies should focus on reviewing the management of the disease in the country and measuring total medical costs, which should take into account indirect and social costs.