Contemporary Incremental Healthcare Costs for Chronic Rhinosinusitis in the United States
Neil Bhattacharyya
Abstract
OBJECTIVE/HYPOTHESIS: Determine contemporary incremental increases in healthcare expenditures and utilization associated with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of national health care survey data. METHODS: Patients reporting a diagnosis of CRS were extracted from the 2018 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey medical conditions file and linked to the consolidated expenditures file. CRS patients were then compared to non-CRS patients determining differences in healthcare utilization for office visits, emergency facility visits, and prescriptions filled as well as differences in total healthcare costs, office-based costs, prescription medication costs, and self-expenditures using demographically and comorbidity adjusted multivariate models. Results were compared to 2007, adjusted for inflation. RESULTS: An estimated 7.28 ± 0.36 million adult patients reported CRS in 2018 (3.0 ± 0.1% of the adult U.S. population). The additional incremental healthcare utilizations associated with CRS relative to non-CRS patients for office visits, emergency facility visits, and number of prescriptions filled were 4.2 ± 0.6, 0.10 ± 0.03, and 6.0 ± 0.9, respectively (all P ≤ .003). Similarly, additional incremental healthcare expenditures associated with CRS for total health care expenses, office-based visit expenditures, prescription expenditures, and self-expenditures were $1,983 ± 569, $772 ± 139, $678 ± 213, and $68 ± 17, respectively (all P ≤ .002). Increases in total (+$1,062) and office based expenditures (+$360) compared to 2007 were significant. CONCLUSION: CRS continues to be associated with a substantial incremental increase in healthcare utilization and expenditures. These expenditures have significantly outpaced inflation expected increases. The national healthcare costs of CRS have increased to an estimated $14.4 billion per year. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3 Laryngoscope, 131:2169-2172, 2021.