Drug utilization patterns and healthcare resource use and costs in patients with neurogenic bladder in the United Kingdom: a retrospective primary care database study
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
AIM: To characterize patients with neurogenic bladder (NGB), their treatment patterns, healthcare resource utilization, and associated costs based on records from a primary care database in the United Kingdom.METHODS: This was a retrospective, descriptive, observational study of anonymized data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink and Hospital Episode Statistics databases (selection period, 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2016). Adults with a definitive or probable diagnosis of NGB and ≥1 referral to a urologist were included.RESULTS: The study cohort included 3913 patients with definitive (n = 363) or probable (n = 3550) NGB. Patients had a mean of 8.6 (standard deviation [SD], 7.6) comorbidities, and mean Anticholinergic Cognitive Burden Scale score of 6.6 (SD, 5.9). During 12 months’ follow-up, urinary tract infection (UTI) and urinary incontinence were the most common complications. Most patients (92.2%) received ≥1 prescription for an antimuscarinic agent or mirabegron, and 53.9% of patients received prescriptions for UTI-specific antibiotics. The mean number of visits to a general practitioner for any cause was 67.7 (SD, 42.6) per individual. Almost half (46.7%) of the study cohort visited a specialist during the 12-month follow-up period, and 11.0% had ≥1 hospital admission. Total mean per patient costs for healthcare resource utilization was £2395.CONCLUSIONS: The burden of illness, healthcare resource needs, and associated costs among patients with NGB are considerable. Drug prescribing patterns are consistent with the symptoms and complications of NGB, although increased awareness of drugs with anticholinergic activity among prescribers may help to reduce the cumulative anticholinergic burden in this vulnerable population.
Date Issued
2019-06-01
Date Acceptance
2019-03-01
Citation
Neurourology and Urodynamics, 2019, 38 (5), pp.1278-1289
ISSN
0733-2467
Publisher
Wiley
Start Page
1278
End Page
1289
Journal / Book Title
Neurourology and Urodynamics
Volume
38
Issue
5
Copyright Statement
© 2019 The Authors. Neurourology and Urodynamics Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/nau.23981
Notes
keywords: cholinergic antagonists, comorbidity, healthcare costs, healthcare resources, neurogenic, retrospective studies, urinary bladder
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2019-03-28