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4500 Economic Burden of Infections Following Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplant for Hematologic Malignancies

Health Services and Outcomes Research – Malignant Diseases
Program: Oral and Poster Abstracts
Session: 902. Health Services and Outcomes Research – Malignant Diseases: Poster III
Monday, December 7, 2015, 6:00 PM-8:00 PM
Hall A, Level 2 (Orange County Convention Center)

Ariel Berger, MPH1*, Walter W Grubb, MS2*, Samuel Huse1*, Maitreyee Mohanty, MPharm PhD1*, John Ferraro, MBA2*, Moya Daniels, MS2* and Wendy J. Levin, MD MS2

1Evidera, Lexington, MA
2Fate Therapeutics, Inc, San Diego, CA

Background: Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is a potentially curative option for many hematologic malignancies, but is associated with numerous complications, including infection.  While the clinical consequences of infection post-HCT have been well characterized, details of their economic burden have not.

Methods: Using a large US healthcare claims database, we identified patients aged ≥2 years who underwent allogeneic HCT between October 2009 and March 2013.  The hospital admission during which HCT was performed was deemed the “Index Admission”.  We excluded patients without continuous health plan enrollment and evidence of a hematologic malignancy in the 6-month period prior to the Index Admission.  Patients were followed from discharge of the Index Admission until death, plan disenrollment, or one year, whichever occurred first (“Follow-Up”).  We ascertained the incidence of infections during the Index Admission through 100 days after discharge (“Early Infections”), and examined by etiology (bacterial, viral, fungal, other/unknown) using relevant ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes.  We then ascertained total healthcare costs (inpatient care, outpatient care, outpatient pharmacy) and hospital length of stay (LOS) during the Index Admission and Follow-Up.  Reimbursed amounts (plan payment plus patient liability) were used as a proxy for healthcare costs. We compared total healthcare costs and LOS during the Index Admission, Follow-Up, and Overall (Index Admission + Follow-Up) between patients who did versus did not experience an Early Infection using Student’s t-tests (unadjusted analyses), and analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) to adjust for differences in age, sex, plan type, geography, year of Index Admission, type of malignancy, and comorbidities.

Results: A total of 1,635 patients were identified who underwent allogeneic HCT and met all selection criteria; mean age was 48.4 years, 55.6% were men, and acute myeloid leukemia was the most common malignancy (41.8%). A total of 77.7% of patients (n=1,270) experienced ≥1 Early Infections: bacterial (45.5%), viral (33.2%), fungal (19.5%), and other/unknown (54.1%).  Univariate findings are presented in the table.  Compared to patients without Early Infections, multivariate-adjusted mean total healthcare costs among patients with Early Infection were $69,044 greater during Index Admission, $74,307 greater during Follow-Up, and $143,351 greater Overall; corresponding increases in LOS were 8 days, 10 days, and 18 days, respectively (all p<.001).

Conclusions:  Nearly four-in-five patients who undergo allogeneic HCT experience Early Infections.  These infections are associated with significant increases in healthcare costs and hospital LOS. Our findings suggest new therapies capable of preventing infection – especially across etiologies– could be impactful from an economic perspective.

Table. Mean (SD) Total LOS and Healthcare Costs, by Time Since Allogeneic HCT and Early Infection Status

Type of Infection

Overall

Index Admission

Follow-Up Period

WITH

Infection

WITHOUT Infection

p-value

WITH

Infection

WITHOUT Infection

p-value

WITH

Infection

WITHOUT Infection

p-value

Total LOS, days

Any Infection

56.9 (41.8)

38.0 (25.2)

<.001

35.2 (22.7)

26.7 (14.6)

<.001

21.7 (34.5)

11.3 (22.0)

<.001

Bacterial

63.9 (46.4)

43.4 (29.6)

<.001

37.4 (23.9)

29.9 (18.5)

<.001

26.4 (38.6)

13.5 (24.7)

<.001

Viral

64.5 (48.8)

46.8 (32.4)

<.001

37.7 (24.3)

31.1 (19.6)

<.001

26.8 (40.3)

15.7 (27.0)

<.001

Fungal

68.1 (52.0)

49.0 (34.9)

<.001

40.4 (27.2)

31.6 (19.4)

<.001

27.7 (41.7)

17.4 (29.4)

<.001

Other/

Unknown

59.3 (43.5)

45.0 (32.6)

<.001

36.4 (23.9)

29.7 (17.4)

<.001

22.8 (35.6)

15.3 (27.7)

<.001

Total Healthcare Costs, $

Any Infection

479,162 (387,142)

310,911 (203,337)

<.001

262,290 (231,969)

178,560 (105,550)

<.001

216,871 (294,604)

132,350 (171,085)

<.001

Bacterial

517,802 (413,054)

377,972 (297,137)

<.001

275,178 (238,242)

217,228 (186,010)

<.001

242,624 (317,973)

160,743 (224,804)

<.001

Viral

561,509 (460,937)

381,977 (281,459)

<.001

296,565 (268,145)

217,260 (174,118)

<.001

264,944 (350,792)

164,716 (219,322)

<.001

Fungal

552,653 (464,501)

414,682 (326,023)

<.001

293,649 (263,916)

231,466 (197,292)

<.001

259,003 (354,145)

183,216 (248,892)

<.001

Other/

Unknown

495,675 (396,898)

377,794 (302,142)

<.001

270,943 (236,232)

211,331 (177,328)

<.001

224,731 (307,157)

166,462 (225,358)

<.001

Disclosures: Berger: Evidera: Employment ; Fate Therapeutics, Inc: Research Funding . Grubb: Fate Therapeutics, Inc: Employment , Equity Ownership . Huse: Fate Therapeutics, Inc: Research Funding ; Evidera: Employment . Mohanty: Evidera: Employment ; Fate Therapeutics, Inc: Research Funding . Ferraro: Fate Therapeutics, Inc: Employment , Equity Ownership . Daniels: Fate Therapeutics, Inc: Employment , Equity Ownership . Levin: Fate Therapeutics, Inc: Employment , Equity Ownership .

*signifies non-member of ASH