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ORLANDO — Prerequisite inpatient initiation of sotalol or dofetilide with telemetry monitoring adds at least $395 million annually to the health care costs of Americans with atrial fibrillation, according to a new economic analysis.
Development of new rhythm-control agents suitable for outpatient initiation because of low proarrhythmic potential could therefore result in substantial economic savings, not to mention the quality of life gain by avoiding a multiday hospitalization, Dr. Michael H. Kim noted at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology.
Sanofi-Aventis, sponsor of this economic study, is awaiting a decision from the Food and Drug Administration about its antiarrhythmic drug dronedarone (Multaq). It was recently recommended for marketing approval for treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) by an FDA advisory committee.
Dronedarone is a close chemical relative of amiodarone, but without the older agent's substantial pulmonary and thyroid toxicity. Like amiodarone, dronedarone has a low proarrhythmic potential, making it suitable for initiation in outpatient settings.
Dr. Kim and coworkers analyzed billing records for 4,847 AF patients hospitalized for initiation of sotalol and 2,443 admitted for initiation of dofetilide (Tikosyn). The economic information was provided by the Premier Perspective database, which is owned by 200 not-for-profit U.S. hospitals and health systems.
ACC/American Heart Association guidelines recommend sotalol be started with in-hospital telemetry monitoring. For dofetilide it is not just a recommendation—the FDA requires a minimum 3-day hospital stay, along with special training and certification in the drug's use on the part of the prescribing physician.
In this study, patients starting on sotalol for AF were hospitalized for a median of 2 days and those initiating dofetilide stayed for 3 days. For 89% of patients, the attending physician was a cardiologist. The mean total AF-related inpatient costs were $3,278 in the sotalol group and $3,610 in the dofetilide group. Most of this expense was for hospital room and board, according to Dr. Kim of Northwestern University, Chicago, who disclosed that he serves as a research consultant to Sanofi-Aventis.
ORLANDO — Prerequisite inpatient initiation of sotalol or dofetilide with telemetry monitoring adds at least $395 million annually to the health care costs of Americans with atrial fibrillation, according to a new economic analysis.
Development of new rhythm-control agents suitable for outpatient initiation because of low proarrhythmic potential could therefore result in substantial economic savings, not to mention the quality of life gain by avoiding a multiday hospitalization, Dr. Michael H. Kim noted at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology.
Sanofi-Aventis, sponsor of this economic study, is awaiting a decision from the Food and Drug Administration about its antiarrhythmic drug dronedarone (Multaq). It was recently recommended for marketing approval for treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) by an FDA advisory committee.
Dronedarone is a close chemical relative of amiodarone, but without the older agent's substantial pulmonary and thyroid toxicity. Like amiodarone, dronedarone has a low proarrhythmic potential, making it suitable for initiation in outpatient settings.
Dr. Kim and coworkers analyzed billing records for 4,847 AF patients hospitalized for initiation of sotalol and 2,443 admitted for initiation of dofetilide (Tikosyn). The economic information was provided by the Premier Perspective database, which is owned by 200 not-for-profit U.S. hospitals and health systems.
ACC/American Heart Association guidelines recommend sotalol be started with in-hospital telemetry monitoring. For dofetilide it is not just a recommendation—the FDA requires a minimum 3-day hospital stay, along with special training and certification in the drug's use on the part of the prescribing physician.
In this study, patients starting on sotalol for AF were hospitalized for a median of 2 days and those initiating dofetilide stayed for 3 days. For 89% of patients, the attending physician was a cardiologist. The mean total AF-related inpatient costs were $3,278 in the sotalol group and $3,610 in the dofetilide group. Most of this expense was for hospital room and board, according to Dr. Kim of Northwestern University, Chicago, who disclosed that he serves as a research consultant to Sanofi-Aventis.
ORLANDO — Prerequisite inpatient initiation of sotalol or dofetilide with telemetry monitoring adds at least $395 million annually to the health care costs of Americans with atrial fibrillation, according to a new economic analysis.
Development of new rhythm-control agents suitable for outpatient initiation because of low proarrhythmic potential could therefore result in substantial economic savings, not to mention the quality of life gain by avoiding a multiday hospitalization, Dr. Michael H. Kim noted at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology.
Sanofi-Aventis, sponsor of this economic study, is awaiting a decision from the Food and Drug Administration about its antiarrhythmic drug dronedarone (Multaq). It was recently recommended for marketing approval for treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) by an FDA advisory committee.
Dronedarone is a close chemical relative of amiodarone, but without the older agent's substantial pulmonary and thyroid toxicity. Like amiodarone, dronedarone has a low proarrhythmic potential, making it suitable for initiation in outpatient settings.
Dr. Kim and coworkers analyzed billing records for 4,847 AF patients hospitalized for initiation of sotalol and 2,443 admitted for initiation of dofetilide (Tikosyn). The economic information was provided by the Premier Perspective database, which is owned by 200 not-for-profit U.S. hospitals and health systems.
ACC/American Heart Association guidelines recommend sotalol be started with in-hospital telemetry monitoring. For dofetilide it is not just a recommendation—the FDA requires a minimum 3-day hospital stay, along with special training and certification in the drug's use on the part of the prescribing physician.
In this study, patients starting on sotalol for AF were hospitalized for a median of 2 days and those initiating dofetilide stayed for 3 days. For 89% of patients, the attending physician was a cardiologist. The mean total AF-related inpatient costs were $3,278 in the sotalol group and $3,610 in the dofetilide group. Most of this expense was for hospital room and board, according to Dr. Kim of Northwestern University, Chicago, who disclosed that he serves as a research consultant to Sanofi-Aventis.