Riewpaiboon Arthorn, Nuchprayoon Issarang, Torcharus Kitti, Indaratna Kaemthong, Thavorncharoensap Montarat, Ubol Bang-On
Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.
BMC Res Notes. 2010 Jan 30;3:29. doi: 10.1186/1756-0500-3-29.
Hemoglobin E beta-thalassemia (beta-thalassemia/Hb E) has a variable severity, and the cost of treatment has not been well studied. The aim of this study was to analyze the societal cost of caring for children with beta-thalassemias in Thailand. The study was designed as a prevalence-based cost-of-illness analysis in a societal perspective. Medical records from three public hospitals of children aged 2-18 years with beta-thalassemia/Hb E and homozygous beta-thalassemia were reviewed for direct medical cost determination. For direct non-medical cost and indirect cost, a family member was interviewed.
It was found that 201 patients with beta-thalassemia/Hb E (91%) and homozygous beta-thalassemia (9%) were recruited for this study. Ninety-two (46%) were severe thalassemia and 109 (54%) were mild to moderate severity. The annual average cost of treatment was US$950; 59% was direct medical cost, 17% direct non-medical cost, and 24% indirect cost. The costs were differentiated by some potential predictors. Significant predictor variables were: hospital, health insurance scheme, blood transfusion pattern, and iron chelation drug use.
The average annual cost per patient was calculated, and the cost model was estimated. These would be applied for national planning, economic evaluation of treatment and prevention interventions, and budget impact analysis.
血红蛋白Eβ地中海贫血（β地中海贫血/Hb E）病情严重程度不一，其治疗成本尚未得到充分研究。本研究旨在分析泰国照顾β地中海贫血患儿的社会成本。该研究设计为从社会角度进行的基于患病率的疾病成本分析。回顾了三家公立医院中2至18岁β地中海贫血/Hb E和纯合子β地中海贫血患儿的病历，以确定直接医疗成本。对于直接非医疗成本和间接成本，对一名家庭成员进行了访谈。
本研究共纳入201例β地中海贫血/Hb E患者（91%）和纯合子β地中海贫血患者（9%）。92例（46%）为重度地中海贫血，109例（54%）为轻度至中度。年平均治疗成本为950美元；59%为直接医疗成本，17%为直接非医疗成本，24%为间接成本。成本因一些潜在预测因素而异。显著的预测变量包括：医院、健康保险计划、输血模式和铁螯合剂药物使用情况。
计算了每位患者的年平均成本，并估计了成本模型。这些将应用于国家规划、治疗和预防干预措施的经济评估以及预算影响分析。
