Costs increase with glaucoma severity

The direct medical costs of glaucoma management and the drain on resources increase with the severity of the disease, according to a study.

Carlo E. Traverso and colleagues throughout Europe studied 194 patients from a potential 1,655 cases diagnosed with glaucoma between 1995 and 2003. Records were chosen based on diagnosis of primary open-angle glaucoma, glaucoma suspect, ocular hypertension or normal-tension glaucoma. Data collected included patient demographics, glaucoma medications and surgeries, and visual field results. Patients had a minimum of 5 years follow-up.

The direct cost of treatment increased by an estimated 86 euros for each incremental step, the authors found, ranging from an average cost of 455 euros per person for stage 0 glaucoma up to 969 euros per person for someone diagnosed with stage 4 glaucoma. Medication accounted for between 42% and 56% of the total costs of the disease, they said.

“Ophthalmologists, general practitioners and health administrators now have a European based set of data demonstrating that managing glaucoma effectively, preventing progression beyond the early to moderate stages of the disease, will result in a decrease in direct costs,” the authors said. “This should be used to offset the constraints on resource delivery to manage patients with an unquestionable diagnosis of progressive glaucoma.”

The study is published in the October issue of British Journal of Ophthalmology.