Health expenditures of asthma-COPD overlap in Northern Jordan.

Abstract

ObjectiveTo investigate the characteristics and medical expenditures of patients with Asthma- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) overlap (ACO) compared to asthma and COPD patients.MethodsThis was a retrospective cohort study involving patients diagnosed with ACO, asthma or COPD as of January 2016. Medical records for patients attending King Abdullah University Hospital (KAUH), in northern Jordan, during the years 2015-2016 were used to identify eligible patients and all relevant clinical characteristics. Both respiratory and all-cause charges were extracted from KAUH billing system during the year 2016. Total, inpatient, outpatient, and pharmacy charges were described and compared across the three disease categories. Charges were measured in Jordanian Dinar (JOD, equal to 1.41 US Dollar).ResultsOf a total of 761, 87 ACO patients, 494 asthmatic patients and 180 COPD patients were identified and included in this study. The average total respiratory-related charges were significantly higher in patients with ACO compared to patients with asthma (601.4 versus 354.3 JODs; P value ConclusionsACO is a risk factor for incurring higher health expenditures in Jordan. Higher respiratory expenditures are also associated with older ages and higher disease severity.