Sidi Y, Duan Y, Rhee TG, Wu ZH. Cost analysis of alpha blocker treatments for benign prostatic hyperplasia in Medicare beneficiaries.
Res Social Adm Pharm 2020;
17:1119-1139. [PMID:
32891534 DOI:
10.1016/j.sapharm.2020.08.012]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2019] [Revised: 06/15/2020] [Accepted: 08/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES
Tamsulosin is the most widely used alpha-1 blocker medication for managing benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) as indicated in the current practice guideline. The aim of this study was to compare all-cause medical costs and BPH-specific medical costs in older male adults with BPH treated with tamsulosin vs other alpha-1 blockers (i.e., doxazosin, terazosin, and alfuzosin).
METHODS
This was a retrospective propensity-score matched cohort study based on 2006-2012 Medicare claims data. All-cause medical costs and BPH-specific medical costs were compared between tamsulosin and other alpha-1 blockers treatment groups using baseline-adjusted quantile regression analyses. The comparisons were performed at different percentiles of the cost distributions.
RESULTS
176,793 older male adults with BPH who used alpha-1 blockers were included in the analysis. All-cause medical costs in 75th and 95th percentiles of the cost distribution are substantially higher in tamsulosin treatment group when compared to other alpha-1 blocker medications (p < 0.05 for all). Tamsulosin treatment group had substantially higher BPH-specific medical costs in 99th percentile of the cost distribution when compared to doxazosin and terazosin (p < 0.001 for all). Overall, the top 5% of the patients with the highest all-cause medical costs accounted for approximately 45% of the overall all-cause medical costs, and the top 1% of the patients with the highest BPH-specific medical costs accounted for 39-51% of those costs.
CONCLUSION
Older adults with BPH who encountered higher medical expenses had substantially higher medical costs when treated with tamsulosin than other common alpha blockers. Cost-related quality of measures should be assessed to improve health outcomes in older adults with BPH.
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