Burden of Carcinoid Heart Disease in Patients With Carcinoid Syndrome Initiating Somatostatin Analogues.

This study investigated the prevalence and economic burden of CaHD among adults with CS in the United States. METHODS: This retrospective study analyzed insurance claims of patients with CS initiating somatostatin analogue (SSA) therapy. Eligible patients had ≥1 medical claim for CS with continuous insurance coverage for 1 year before and at least 30 days after initiating SSA therapy. Markers for CaHD were identified using a predetermined list of medical and/or procedural claims based on the clinical experience of a practicing cardiologist. Case subjects had a documented medical/procedural claim for a marker of CaHD during the study period; control subjects had no markers for CaHD. Baseline characteristics were assessed during the pre-SSA treatment initiation period. Economic outcomes (health care resources and expenditures) were assessed in the follow-up period after SSA treatment initiation and compared between incident case subjects and control subjects. Descriptive statistics were used to assess demographic and clinical characteristics. Univariate and multivariate models were used to assess differences in health care resource use and costs between case subjects and control subjects. FINDINGS: A total of 654 patients met the eligibility criteria; 248 (38%) had a prevalent marker of CaHD and were excluded from the economic analysis. The analytic sample included 406 patients with CS, 185 (46%) of whom had an incident CaHD marker (case subjects) and 221 were...
Source: Clinical Therapeutics - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Tags: Clin Ther Source Type: research