Department of Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy, Kuwait University, Jabriya, Kuwait.
Department of Neurology, Ibn Sina Hospital, Sabah Medical Area, Kuwait.
PLoS One. 2019 May 14;14(5):e0216646. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216646. eCollection 2019.
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological disease with heavy economic and social burdens resulting in significant disability.
This study aims to (1) measure the cost of health resources utilization by MS patients and (2) to examine the difference in utilization and its attributed costs amongst patients who may have a different course of MS and expanded disability status scale (EDSS) scores.
A cross-sectional study using Kuwait National MS registry was conducted to estimate the costs of utilization of resources from 2011 to 2015.
Between the period 2011-2015, 1344 MS patients were included in the registry. The average annual cost per MS patient has increased from $10,271 in 2011 to $17,296 in 2015. Utilization of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) was the main driver of costs reaching 89.9% in 2015. Throughout the five-year period, the occurrence of relapses decreased from 21.8% to 12.2% (p <0.0001). During this same period, ambulatory relapse treatment increased by 5.8% while hospitalizations decreased by 2.6%. Patients with a moderate EDSS score (3.5-6) had the highest average cost (p<0.0001) compared to mild and severe EDSS scores.
Multiple sclerosis has been a significant economic burden on the Kuwait healthcare system. DMTs are the main driver of cost.
多发性硬化症（MS）是一种慢性神经系统疾病，具有沉重的经济和社会负担，导致严重残疾。
本研究旨在：（1）测量 MS 患者的卫生资源利用成本；（2）检查可能具有不同 MS 病程和扩展残疾状况量表（EDSS）评分的患者在利用和归因成本方面的差异。
使用科威特国家 MS 登记处进行了一项横断面研究，以估计 2011 年至 2015 年资源利用的成本。
在 2011 年至 2015 年期间，登记处共纳入了 1344 名 MS 患者。每位 MS 患者的年平均成本从 2011 年的 10271 美元增加到 2015 年的 17296 美元。疾病修正疗法（DMT）的利用是成本的主要驱动因素，在 2015 年达到 89.9%。在五年期间，复发的发生率从 21.8%降至 12.2%（p<0.0001）。在此期间，门诊复发治疗增加了 5.8%，而住院治疗减少了 2.6%。EDSS 评分为 3.5-6 的患者的平均成本最高（p<0.0001），与轻度和重度 EDSS 评分相比。
多发性硬化症对科威特医疗保健系统造成了重大经济负担。DMT 是成本的主要驱动因素。
