Polskie Archiwum Medycyny Wewnętrznej
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Pol. Arch. Med. Wewn. · May 2019
Costs of pharmacotherapy of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in relation to changing Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease guidelines (2007, 2011, and 2017 updates).
INTRODUCTION Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the most common chronic noninfectious diseases. The clinical management is determined by patient assignment to the severity stage of the disease in accordance with the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guidelines. OBJECTIVES Our aim was to determine the economic implications of changing GOLD guidelines (2007, 2011, and 2017 updates) and their impact on the direct costs of pharmacological treatment of patients diagnosed with COPD. ⋯ Pharmacotherapy costs would be reduced with each subsequent guideline. In the same group of 2597 COPD patients, the average monthly cost of the first‑line pharmacotherapy as well as the overall costs of pharmacotherapy (first- and second‑line) per patient would be the lowest when applying the therapeutic regimen in accordance with the 2017 GOLD guidelines. CONCLUSIONS Implementation of 2011 and 2017 GOLD guidelines, as compared with the 2007 update, would result in a reduction of direct costs of COPD treatment.