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Pediatric influenza complications significantly increase costs, resource use
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The treatment of pediatric influenza that results in complications such as asthma exacerbations or otitis media can cost up to $1,199 for those with Medicaid and $1,161 for those with commercial insurance.
“In 2015, the CDC estimated that 974,206 hospitalizations occurred due to influenza and over 19 million influenza cases sought medical care. In addition, as many as 49,000 deaths annually have been attributed to influenza,” Philip O. Buck, PhD, MPH, from GlaxoSmithKline, and colleagues wrote. “Although previous studies have evaluated the clinical and economic burden of influenza in specific pediatric populations, these studies did not focus on the general population of American children.”
To evaluate the rate in which influenza is diagnosed in children in addition to the cost of treating the disease and its complications, the researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study in which children with ICD-9 coded influenza diagnoses were matched with children who were not diagnosed with influenza. All children were between 6 months and 18 years, and were enrolled in a health plan.
Buck and colleagues assessed the rate of influenza and associated complications, health care resource utilization and the cost of treatment at 21 days follow-up. The researchers used generalized linear models to determine adjusted costs.
The incidence of influenza was higher in those with Medicaid (32.6 per 1,000) compared with those with commercial insurance (20.3 per 1,000), and cases were most noticeable in children between 6 and 35 months (commercial = 26.8; Medicaid = 47.9). Complications were observed in 12% to 17% of influenza cases. Children between 6 and 35 months also demonstrated the highest rate of complications (25% to 30%).
Additionally, the 6- to 35-month age cohort were most likely to be hospitalized (5% to 6%) and visit the ED (commercial = 19%; Medicaid = 36%). Those who had complications spent more on average on influenza-specific costs (commercial: $1,161 vs. $337; Medicaid: $1,199 vs. $354; P < .05), and those with influenza had higher health care costs than those without (commercial: $688 vs. $470; Medicaid: $818 vs. $453).
“The incidence of influenza and influenza-related complications were higher among Medicaid patients compared to commercial patients, possibly due to lower vaccination rates in the Medicaid populations,” Buck and colleagues wrote. “Similarly, Medicaid patients had a higher proportion of the children with hospitalization and ED visits, while the commercial patients had a higher proportion of the children with office visits. These results may be due to access to care issues and to the higher incidence for some of the respiratory and extra-respiratory conditions in the Medicaid population.” – by Katherine Bortz
Disclosure: Please see the study for a full list of relevant financial disclosures.
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