Objectives: To understand the current state of treatment patterns and health care resource utilization among patients in Japan with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) managed in the real-world setting.
Methods: Patient records from the Medical Data Vision database were analyzed to identify patients with ICD-10 AS from April 2009 through July 2017. Measures evaluated included demographic, clinical, and other characteristics at diagnosis; treatment patterns; health care resource utilization; and costs.
Results: Four hundred and seventeen patients met the study's inclusion criteria. Treatments observed during the first year after the initial AS diagnosis included nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (79.6%), corticosteroids (39.3%), methotrexate (22.3%), sulfasalazine (16.8%), adalimumab (14.2%), and infliximab (12.2%). At any time during the mean 33 months of study follow-up, biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) were initiated by 115 patients. During the study follow-up, patients who initiated bDMARDs had higher median total per-patient annual health care costs ($26,937 vs $15,323), lower median per-patient hospitalization costs ($29,817 vs. $39,509), and fewer median hospital days per admission (7.0 vs. 11.0 days) compared with the overall group of patients diagnosed with AS.
Conclusion: This database study provides knowledge of patient characteristics, treatment patterns, HCRU, and costs for patients with AS in Japan. The study outcomes demonstrate a need for increased awareness of proper AS management.
Keywords: Ankylosing spondylitis; Japan; biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; claims database; spondyloarthritis.