Rheumatology

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The impact of flare on disease costs of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
Arthritis Care and Research , 09/01/09

Zhu TY et al. – Patients with flares incur higher direct and indirect costs compared with those without flares. Major organ flares incur higher disease costs than other organ flares. Treatments that effectively control disease activity and prevent flares, especially major organ flares, may reduce the high costs associated with flare in SLE.

• A retrospective cost-of-illness study was performed on 306 SLE patients
• Participants completed questionnaires on sociodemographics, employment status, and out-of-pocket expenses
• The total number of flares and involved organs during the preceding 12 months were recorded

• Patients with flares were younger, had shorter disease duration, and had higher disease activity at the time of the assessment
• The overall incidence of lupus flares was 0.24 episodes per patient-year
• Patients with flares used more health care resources and incurred significantly higher annual direct and indirect costs
• The mean total costs per patient-year were 2-fold higher for patients with flares ($22,580 versus $10,870 [2006 US dollars]

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