Objective: To assess changes in incidence, diagnostic procedures, comorbidity profiles, length of hospital stay (LOHS), economic costs and in-hospital mortality (IHM) associated with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
Methods: We identified patients hospitalised with IPF in Spain from 2004 to 2013. Data were collected from the National Hospital Discharge Database.
Results: The study population comprised 22 214 patients. Overall crude incidence increased from 3.82 to 6.98 admissions per 100 000 inhabitants from 2004 to 2013 (p<0.05). The percentage of lung biopsies decreased significantly from 10.68% in 2004 to 9.04% in 2013 (p<0.05). The percentage of patients with a Charlson comorbidity index ≥2 was 15.14% in 2004, increasing to 26.95% in 2013 (p<0.05). IHM decreased from 14.77% in 2004 to 13.72% in 2013 (adjusted OR 0.98; 95% CI 0.97 to 0.99). Mean LOHS was 11.87±11.18 days in 2004, decreasing to 10.20±11.12 days in 2013 (p<0.05). The mean cost per patient increased from €4838.51 in 2004 to €5410.90 in 2013 (p<0.05).
Conclusions: The frequency of hospital admissions for IPF increased during the study period, as did healthcare costs. However, IHM and LOHS decreased.
Keywords: cost; hospitalization; idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; in-hospital mortality; length of hospital stay.
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