Economic value of intra-articular knee OA therapies: a U.S. perspective

Abstract

Aims: This study compared the six-month medical/pharmacy costs and healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) for knee OA patients undergoing intra-articular therapy with different classes of hyaluronic acid (HA) (by molecular weight) or corticosteroid (ICS). Materials and methods: Patients across high molecular weight (HMW) HA, medium molecular weight (MMW) HA, low molecular weight (LMW) HA, and ICS therapy groups were matched from a U.S. claims database (Optum’s de-identified Clinformatics Data Mart Database), with a final size of 6,234 patients per group. Adjusted six-month medical/prescription costs per patient per month (PPPM), and HCRU rates and costs, were determined. Secondary endpoints included complication rates and adjusted costs, new prescription analgesic use, and adjunctive/supplemental intra-articular treatment. Results: Mean adjusted PPPM medical costs were highest for LMW HA ($527.14), followed by HMW HA ($469.35) and MMW HA ($441.97) (p