Health care resource utilization preceding death or lung transplantation in people with cystic fibrosis: HCRU before transplant or death in cystic fibrosis.

BACKGROUND: We studied the health care resource utilization (HCRU) and associated costs in the year preceding LT in pwCF or death without LT, and we estimated the overall cost of LT.

METHODS: We performed a linkage between 2006 and 2017 data from the French CF Registry (FCFR) and the French health claims database (Système National des Données de Santé; SNDS). The HCRU and associated costs were described the year before LT or before death without LT, and two years after LT.

RESULTS: Among the 7,671 patients included in the FCFR, 6,187 patients (80.7 %) were successfully matched to patients in the SNDS (males (m): 51.9 %, mean±SD age at the end of follow-up: 24.6 ± 13.6). Overall, 166 patients died without LT (m: 47.6 %, age at death: 30.4 ± 14.5) and 767 patients with primary LT (m: 48.2 %, age at transplantation: 28.0 ± 9.1) were identified. HCRU was lower among patients who died without receiving LT, with marked differences in the cost of hospital stays. The mean total cost per patient was €66,759 ± 38,249 in the year before death, €149,374 ± 62,678 in the year preceding LT, €63,919 ± 35,399 in the first year following LT, and €42,813 ± 39,967 in the second year of follow-up.

CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that HCRU was two times lower in the year before death in non-transplant pwCF than in the year before LT, which may reflect inappropriate care of CF in patients who died without receiving LT. It also shows the cost associated with LT.