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. 2016 Mar 5;16(4):e32654.
doi: 10.5812/hepatmon.32654. eCollection 2016 Apr.

Economic Burden of Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Different Stages of Disease: A Report From Southern Iran

Fatemeh Zare  1 , Mohammad Reza Fattahi  1 , Masood Sepehrimanesh  1 , Ali Reza Safarpour  1
Affiliations

Economic Burden of Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Different Stages of Disease: A Report From Southern Iran

Fatemeh Zare et al. Hepat Mon. .

Abstract

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major blood-borne infection which imposes high economic cost on the patients.

Objectives: The current study aimed to evaluate the total annual cost due to chronic HCV related diseases imposed on each patient and their family in Southern Iran.

Patients and methods: Economic burden of chronic hepatitis C-related liver diseases (chronic hepatitis C, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma) were examined. The current retrospective study evaluated 200 Iranian patients for their socioeconomic status, utilization (direct and indirect costs) and treatment costs and work days lost due to illness by a structured questionnaire in 2015. Costs of hospital admissions were extracted from databases of Nemazee hospital, Shiraz, Iran. The outpatient expenditure per patient was measured through the rate of outpatient visits and average cost per visit reported by the patients; while the inpatient costs were calculated through annual rate of hospital admissions and average expenditure. Self-medication and direct non-medical costs were also reported. The human capital approach was used to measure the work loss cost.

Results: The total annual cost per patient for chronic hepatitis C, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) based on purchasing power parity (PPP) were USD 1625.50, USD 6117.2, and USD 11047.2 in 2015, respectively.

Conclusions: Chronic hepatitis C-related liver diseases impose a substantial economic burden on patients, families and the society. The current study provides useful information on cost of treatment and work loss for different disease states, which can be further used in cost-effectiveness evaluations.

Keywords: Cirrhosis; Cost; Economics; Hepatitis C; Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Direct Medical Costs, Direct Non-Medical Costs, and Indirect Costs as a Percentage of Total Cost for Each Group of Patients
IC, indirect cost; DMC, direct medical costs; DNMC, direct non-medical costs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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