Perfil de utilización de los anti-factor de necrosis tumoral en pacientes de Colombia

Abstract

Introduction. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha antagonists (anti-TNFa) have shown an increasing consumption and generate a significant economic burden on health systems. Objectives. The prescribing patterns of tumor necrosis factor-alpha antagonists were determined in a patient population associated with the Sistema General de Seguridad Social en Salud in Colombia. Materials and methods. A descriptive observational study was conducted in 316 patients with respect to use of tumor necrosis factor-alpha antagonists during a treatment period from January 2008 to June 2009. The database examined contained indications of use, inclusion criteria to medication, duration of illness, co-morbidities and adverse reactions. The data were retrieved from the clinical histories. Student´s t test was used for the comparison of quantitative variables, and the chi-square test was used to establish associations between categorical variables and multivariate analysis were used. Results. Mean age was 44.6±13.9 years; 63.9% of participants were female. Of the 316 patients, 17.1% received monotherapy. The order of prescription drugs was as follows: adalimumab (37.3%), infliximab (37.3%) and etanercept (25.4%), all were prescribed in appropriately defined daily doses. Co- medication drugs most frequently prescribed were: disease-modifying anti-rheumatic (82.9%), NSAIDs (29.1%), omeprazole (22.5%), antihypertensives (21.2%), folic acid (19.9%) calcium plus vitamin D (9.8%), calcitriol (6.0%). 10.4% of patients had a record of some adverse drug reaction. The average cost of therapy per patient per year was US$23,464. Conclusions. Anti-TNFa are being used at recommended doses, particularly in rheumatoid arthritis and in combination with other anti-rheumatic drugs. The direct cost of therapy was high for the country’s health system