Clinical and Economic Burden Associated With Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease After Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation in Germany

Abstract

Background: Acute graft-vs-host disease (aGVHD) is a serious complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT), yet there are limited data on the clinical and economic burden of aGVHD in Germany. This real-world study aimed to evaluate clinical and economic outcomes among patients in Germany with or without aGVHD after allo-HSCT.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study used administrative claims extracted from the German statutory health insurance database. Eligible adult patients underwent allo-HSCT between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2017 for any hematological malignancy. Clinical (severe infections and mortality) and economic (health care resource use [HCRU] and costs) outcomes were compared in "aGVHD" patients and "no GVHD" patients. Propensity score matching (1:1) was used to balance covariates between the aGVHD and no GVHD groups.

Results: After propensity score matching, 95 aGVHD and 95 no GVHD patients were included in the analysis. The aGVHD group had significantly higher odds of mortality than the no GVHD group (odds ratio [OR] 2.2; 95% CI 1.2-4.0). Odds of severe infection were similar between the 2 groups (OR 1.7; 95% CI 0.9-3.3). Patients in the aGVHD group had significantly more overnight hospitalizations per patient-year (mean [SD]: 3.7 [3.0] and 2.7 [2.5], P = .029), and total direct costs were 1.6-fold higher than those in the no GVHD group.

Conclusion: Among patients who underwent allo-HSCT, aGVHD was associated with significantly higher mortality, HCRU, and costs, highlighting the need for effective prophylaxis and treatment options to prevent or reduce the incidence of aGVHD.