Fulltext

Secular trends of health care resource utilization and costs between Brugada syndrome and congenital long QT syndrome: A territory-wide study

Lee S 1 , Chung CTS 1 , Radford D 2 , Chou OHI 1 , Lee TTL 1 , Ng ZMW 1 Show all authors , Roever L 3 , Rajan R 4 , Bazoukis G 5 , Letsas KP 6 , Zeng S 7 , Liu FZ 8 , Wong WT 9 , Liu T 10 , Tse G 10

Affiliations 

  • 1 Cardiac Electrophysiology Unit, Cardiovascular Analytics Group, PowerHealth Limited, Hong Kong, China
  • 2 Kent and Medway Medical School, University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury, Kent, UK
  • 3 Department of Clinical Research, Federal University of Uberlandia, Uberlandia, Brazil
  • 4 Department of Cardiology, Sabah Al Ahmed Cardiac Centre, Kuwait City, Kuwait
  • 5 Second Department of Cardiology, Evangelismos General Hospital of Athens, Athens, Greece
  • 6 Arrhythmia Unit, Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center, Athens, Greece
  • 7 Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangzhou, China
  • 8 Department of Cardiology, Atrial Fibrillation Center, Guangdong Provincial Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, China
  • 9 State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology (CUHK), School of Life Sciences, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
  • 10 Tianjin Key Laboratory of Ionic-Molecular Function of Cardiovascular Disease, Department of Cardiology, Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
Clin Cardiol, 2023 Oct;46(10):1194-1201.
PMID: 37489866 DOI: 10.1002/clc.24102

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Health care resource utilization (HCRU) and costs are important metrics of health care burden, but they have rarely been explored in the setting of cardiac ion channelopathies.

HYPOTHESIS: This study tested the hypothesis that attendance-related HCRUs and costs differed between patients with Brugada syndrome (BrS) and congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS).

METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of consecutive BrS and LQTS patients at public hospitals or clinics in Hong Kong, China. HCRUs and costs (in USD) for Accident and Emergency (A&E), inpatient, general outpatient and specialist outpatient attendances were analyzed between 2001 and 2019 at the cohort level. Comparisons were made using incidence rate ratios (IRRs [95% confidence intervals]).

RESULTS: Over the 19-year period, 516 BrS (median age of initial presentation: 51 [interquartile range: 38-61] years, 92% male) and 134 LQTS (median age of initial presentation: 21 [9-44] years, 32% male) patients were included. Compared to LQTS patients, BrS patients had lower total costs (2 008 126 [2 007 622-2 008 629] vs. 2 343 864 [2 342 828-2 344 900]; IRR: 0.857 [0.855-0.858]), higher costs for A&E attendances (83 113 [83 048-83 177] vs. 70 604 [70 487-70 721]; IRR: 1.177 [1.165-1.189]) and general outpatient services (2,176 [2,166-2,187] vs. 921 [908-935]; IRR: 2.363 [2.187-2.552]), but lower costs for inpatient stay (1 391 624 [1 391 359-1 391 889] vs. 1 713 742 [1 713 166-1 714 319]; IRR: 0.812 [0.810-0.814]) and lower costs for specialist outpatient services (531 213 [531 049-531 376] vs. 558 597 [558268-558926]; IRR: 0.951 [0.947-0.9550]).

CONCLUSIONS: Overall, BrS patients consume 14% less health care resources compared to LQTS patients in terms of attendance costs. BrS patients require more A&E and general outpatient services, but less inpatient and specialist outpatient services than LQTS patients.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

MeSH terms
Similar publications