Published online May 6, 2017. doi: 10.4292/wjgpt.v8.i2.131
Peer-review started: September 5, 2016
First decision: October 20, 2016
Revised: December 30, 2016
Accepted: January 16, 2017
Article in press: January 18, 2017
Published online: May 6, 2017
To assess the impact of short infliximab (IFX) infusion on hospital resource utilization and costs.
All inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) patients who received IFX 1 h infusion from March 2007 to September 2014 in eight centers from Southern Italy were included in the analysis. Demographic, clinical and infusion related data were collected. The potential benefits related to the short infusion protocol were assessed both in terms of time saving and increased infusion unit capacity. In addition, indirect patient-related cost savings were evaluated.
One hundred and twenty-five patients were recruited (64 with ulcerative colitis and 61 with Crohn’s disease). Median duration of disease was of 53 mo and mean age of pts at diagnosis was of 34 years (SD: ± 13). Adverse infusion reactions were reported in less than 4% both before and after short infusion. The total number of infusions across the selected centers was of 2501 (30.5% short infusions). In the analyzed cohort, 1143 h were saved (762 in the infusion and 381 in observation phases) through the rapid IFX infusion protocol. This time saving (-15% compared to the standard protocol in infusion phase) represents, from the hospital perspective, an opportunity to optimize infusion unit capacity by allocating the saved time in alternative cost-effective treatments. This is the case of opportunity cost that represents the value of forgone benefit which could be obtained from a resource in its next-best alternative use. Hence, an extra hour of infusion in the case of standard 2-h IFX represents a loss in opportunity to provide other cost effective services. The analysis showed that the short infusion increased the infusion units capacity up to 50% on days when the IFX infusions were scheduled (infusion phase). Furthermore, the analysis showed that the short IFX infusion protocol leads to time savings also in the post-infusion phase (observation) leading to a time saving of 10% on average among the analyzed centers. Finally, the short infusion protocol has been demonstrated to lead to indirect cost savings of €138/patient (average -€17.300 on the whole cohort).
A short IFX infusion protocol can be considered time and cost saving in comparison to the standard infusion protocol both from the hospital’s perspective, as it contributes to increase infusion units capacity, and the patients’ perspective, as it reduces indirect costs and the impact of treatment on everyday life and work productivity.
Core tip: Infliximab (IFX) is a monoclonal antibody anti-tumour necrosis factor used in the treatment of moderate-to-severe inflammatory bowel diseases refractory to conventional therapy. It is usually administered i.v. at a dose of 5 mg/kg as a 2-h infusion. Shortening the infusion protocol to 1 h is equally safe and positively affects quality of life. This paper analyzes the impact of short IFX infusion on hospital resource utilization and costs, both in terms of time saving and increased infusion unit capacity. In addition, we provide evidence of indirect patient-related cost savings.