Estimation of care costs for individuals with cystic fibrosis at a referral center: cohort study, Salvador, 2005-2022.

OBJECTIVES

To estimate the direct costs of diagnosing and treating cystic fibrosis in individuals followed at a referral center in Salvador, and to compare treatment costs between individuals with early diagnosis and those with delayed diagnosis.

METHODS

Cohort study that included individuals followed from January 2005 to April 2022 and that used data obtained from the institution's information system for outpatient data, and from the Hospital Unit Activity Generation System (SISAIH) for hospitalization data. A data collection approach using the micro-costing method was employed. Participants were classified into two groups: early diagnosis and delayed diagnosis. Care costs between groups were compared. The mean and standard deviation were reported for continuous variables with normal distributions, and the median and interquartile range for non-normal variables. The nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare costs between the two groups. The correlation between costs was assessed by follow-up time in each group.

RESULTS

Data from 66 individuals were evaluated. Medication costs accounted for the majority (BRL 6,497,011.60). Patients with delayed diagnosis had a 1.5-fold higher cost ratio (BRL 11,167.45) than those with early diagnosis (BRL 7,294.77), with a statistically significant difference (p-value<0.001). There was a weak correlation between care costs and follow-up time for both early- and delayed-diagnosis groups.

CONCLUSION

The costs of cystic fibrosis care were high, mainly those related to medication consumption for individuals with delayed diagnosis.