Dante Salvador

Heart Failure (HF) poses significant clinical and economic burden globally. Due to its progressive and chronic nature, HF requires both continuous medical management and acute care related to hospitalization. This study aimed to estimate the economic burden of HF in the Philippines, covering both outpatient care and inpatient management. The study utilized a bottom-up micro-costing approach to determine the economic burden of heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF)/heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) across all NYHA classifications using a societal perspective. Price data were gathered from clinical experts, public and private hospitals, while quantity and probability assumptions were derived from published literature, subsequently validated through clinical expert consensus. In 2022, an estimated 914,892 individuals were diagnosed with HF in the Philippines, based on a prevalence rate of 0.82%. This equates to a total economic burden of PHP 80.9B (USD 1.5B). Direct costs accounted for 90% of the total burden at PHP 72.8B (USD 1.3B). Hospital and medication expenses represented 61% of the total cost-of-illness, amounting to PHP 49.2B (USD 887.6M). HF management poses significant burden-of-disease for Filipinos. The annual societal costs of HF management potentially expose Filipinos to catastrophic health spending and impoverishment, especially in a system where a substantial portion of healthcare expenses are paid out-of-pocket. These findings highlight the urgent need to prioritize preventive public health interventions and enhance financial risk protection for HF patients.

Empagliflozin confers cardioprotective benefits among patients with heart failure, across the range of ejection fraction (EF), regardless of type 2 diabetes status. The long-term cost-effectiveness of empagliflozin for the treatment of heart failure (HF) in the Philippines remains unclear. This study aims to determine the economic benefit of adding empagliflozin to the standard of care (SoC) vs the SoC alone for HF in the Philippines. Using a Markov model, we predicted lifetime costs and clinical outcomes associated with treating HF in the Philippine setting. We used estimates of treatment efficacy, event probabilities, and derivations of utilities from the EMPEROR trials. Costs were derived from hospital tariffs and expert consensus. Separate analyses were performed for patients with left ventricular EF >40%, categorized under mid-range ejection fraction or preserved ejection fraction (HFmrEF/HFpEF), and patients with left EF ≤ 40%, categorized under HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Our model predicted an average of 0.09 quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gains among HFmrEF/HFpEF patients and HFrEF patients when empagliflozin was compared to SoC. The addition of empagliflozin in the treatment results in a discounted incremental lifetime cost of PHP 62,692 (USD 1,129.99) and PHP 17,215 (USD 308.67) for HFmrEF/HFpEF and HFrEF, respectively. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of empagliflozin is PHP 198,270 (USD 3,570.72)/QALY and PHP 742,604 (USD 13,385.08)/QALY for HFrEF and HFmrEF/HFpEF, respectively. This study employed parameters derived from short-term clinical trial data, alongside metrics representative of Asian populations, which are not specific to the Philippine cohort. Adding empagliflozin to the SoC in comparison to the SoC is associated with improved clinical outcomes and quality of life, at additional costs for both HFrEF and HFmrEF/HFpEF.

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a life-threatening complication associated with high medical costs. Factor Xa inhibitors gradually replace approved treatment with intravenous direct thrombin inhibitors despite their off-label indication, because of easier management and favorable economic profile. Whether they are cost-effective remains unclear. We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of approved and off-label anticoagulants in patients with suspected HIT, based on census data from the largest Swiss hospital between 2015 and 2018. We constructed a decision tree model that reflects important clinical events associated with HIT. Relevant cost data were obtained from the finance department or estimated based on the Swiss-wide cost tariff. We estimated averted adverse events (AEs) and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio as primary outcome parameters. We performed deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses with 2000 simulations to assess the robustness of our results. In the base-case analysis, the total cost of averting 1 AE was 49 565 Swiss francs (CHF) for argatroban, 30 380 CHF for fondaparinux, and 30 610 CHF for rivaroxaban; after adjusting for 4Ts score: 41 152 CHF (argatroban), 27 710 CHF (fondaparinux), and 37 699 CHF (rivaroxaban). Fondaparinux and rivaroxaban were more clinically effective than argatroban, with AEs averted of 0.820, 0.834, and 0.917 for argatroban, fondaparinux, and rivaroxaban, respectively. Treatment with fondaparinux resulted in less cost and more AEs averted, hence dominating argatroban. Results were most sensitive to AE rates and prolongation of stay. Monte Carlo simulations affirmed our base-case analysis. This is the first cost-effectiveness analysis comparing argatroban with fondaparinux and rivaroxaban using primary data. Fondaparinux and rivaroxaban resulted in more averted AEs, but fondaparinux had greater cost savings. Fondaparinux could be a viable alternative to argatroban.

Iron metabolism and anemia may play an important role in multiple organ dysfunction syndrome in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate biomarkers of anemia and iron metabolism (hemoglobin, ferritin, transferrin, soluble transferrin receptor, hepcidin, haptoglobin, unsaturated iron-binding capacity, erythropoietin, free erythrocyte protoporphyrine, and erythrocyte indices) in patients diagnosed with COVID-19, and explored their prognostic value. Six bibliographic databases were searched up to August 3rd 2020. We included 189 unique studies, with data from 57,563 COVID-19 patients. Pooled mean hemoglobin and ferritin levels in COVID-19 patients across all ages were 129.7 g/L (95% Confidence Interval (CI), 128.51; 130.88) and 777.33 ng/mL (95% CI, 701.33; 852.77), respectively. Hemoglobin levels were lower with older age, higher percentage of subjects with diabetes, hypertension and overall comorbidities, and admitted to intensive care. Ferritin level increased with older age, increasing proportion of hypertensive study participants, and increasing proportion of mortality. Compared to moderate cases, severe COVID-19 cases had lower hemoglobin [weighted mean difference (WMD), − 4.08 g/L (95% CI − 5.12; − 3.05)] and red blood cell count [WMD, − 0.16 × 10¹²/L (95% CI − 0.31; − 0.014)], and higher ferritin [WMD, − 473.25 ng/mL (95% CI 382.52; 563.98)] and red cell distribution width [WMD, 1.82% (95% CI 0.10; 3.55)]. A significant difference in mean ferritin levels of 606.37 ng/mL (95% CI 461.86; 750.88) was found between survivors and non-survivors, but not in hemoglobin levels. Future studies should explore the impact of iron metabolism and anemia in the pathophysiology, prognosis, and treatment of COVID-19.