Comparison of hospital length of stay and hospitalization costs among patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation treated with apixaban or warfarin: an early view.

Link to article at PubMed

Comparison of hospital length of stay and hospitalization costs among patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation treated with apixaban or warfarin: an early view.

J Med Econ. 2016 Mar 30;:1-25

Authors: Xie L, Vo L, Keshishian A, Price K, Singh P, Mardekian J, Bruno A, Baser O, Kim J, Tan W, Trocio J

Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To quantify and compare hospital length of stay (LOS) and costs between hospitalized non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients treated with either apixaban or warfarin via a large claims database.
METHODS: Adult patients hospitalized with AF were selected from the Premier Perspective Claims Database (01JAN2013-31MARCH2014). Patients with evidence of valvular heart disease, valve replacement procedures, or pregnancy during the index hospitalization were excluded. Patients treated with apixaban or warfarin during hospitalization were identified. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to control for baseline imbalances between patients treated with apixaban or warfarin. Primary outcomes were hospital LOS (days), post medication administration LOS, and index hospitalization costs and were compared using paired t-tests in the matched sample.
RESULTS: Before PSM, 2,894 apixaban and 124,174 warfarin patients were identified. Patients treated with warfarin were older and sicker compared to those treated with apixaban. After applying PSM, a total of 2,886 patients were included in each cohort, and baseline characteristics were balanced. The mean (standard deviation [SD] and median) hospital LOS was significantly (p = 0.002) shorter for patients treated with apixaban 5.1 days (5.7 and 3) compared to warfarin 5.5 days (4.8 and 4). The trend appeared consistent in the hospital LOS from point of apixaban or warfarin administration to discharge (4.5 vs. 4.7 days, p = 0.051). Patients administered apixaban incurred significantly lower hospitalization costs compared to those administered warfarin ($11,262 vs. $12,883; p < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: Among NVAF patients, apixaban treatment was associated with significantly shorter hospital LOS and lower costs when compared to warfarin treatment.

PMID: 27028360 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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