[Cost of illness of inflammatory bowel disease in Germany]

Abstract

Introduction: The prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Germany is rising. Due to a disease onset at a young age, direct and indirect costs are important. The aim of the present study is to provide a comprehensive presentation of existing healthcare costs for these diseases in Germany and to compare them by inflation adjustments for 2018.

Material and methods: Performing a systematic literature search, monetary costs were extracted from German and English literature. Quality and relevance of the studies were assessed with a checklist.

Results: The average outpatient cost for inflammatory bowel disease amounts between 18 and 87 Euro/pat/30 days, the average inpatient cost was between 1026 and 9083 Euro/case. Depending on the type of calculation, biologicals cause different amounts of cost. Few data are available for direct medical 82 and 618 Euro/pat/30 days, direct non-medical 63 and 84 Euro/pat/30 days and indirect costs 463 and 3493 Euro/pat/30 days. The total costs are about 533 Euro/pat/30 days, related to one year 6485 Euro/pat.

Conclusion: For the first time, it is possible to compare existing medical costs for IBD in Germany. Current studies feature very heterogeneous methods and study populations of IBD. Depending on the collective, the total costs are up to 6485 Euro/patient/year.