PMID- 16264064
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20060315
LR  - 20220409
IS  - 1060-0280 (Print)
IS  - 1060-0280 (Linking)
VI  - 39
IP  - 12
DP  - 2005 Dec
TI  - Cost of intravenous immunoglobulin therapy versus conventional immunosuppressive 
      therapy in patients with mucous membrane pemphigoid: a preliminary study.
PG  - 2003-8
AB  - BACKGROUND: Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) is an expensive biologic agent used 
      to treat patients with mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP) nonresponsive to 
      conventional immunosuppressive therapy (CIST). The high cost of IVIG is of 
      concern to healthcare providers and insurance companies. OBJECTIVE: To compare 
      the cost of IVIG with that of CIST in treating a cohort of 15 patients with 
      severe and extensive MMP. METHODS: Fifteen patients with biopsy-proven MMP 
      nonresponsive to CIST were subsequently treated with IVIG and demonstrated a 
      positive clinical response. This was a comparative, retrospective study; the mean 
      total duration of the observation period was 8.4 years. A comparison of the cost 
      of IVIG with that of CIST during the study period and the annual cost was 
      performed. The cost of CIST was defined as the actual cost of the drug plus the 
      cost of management of the multiple adverse effects, including hospitalizations, 
      produced by CIST. In the same patient cohort, no significant adverse effects to 
      IVIG were observed and no hospitalizations were required. Hence, the cost of IVIG 
      therapy is simply the actual cost of the IVIG. RESULTS: In this cohort of 
      patients, CIST had significant adverse effects, many of which were hazardous and 
      required prolonged and frequent hospitalizations. The mean total cost using IVIG 
      therapy was significantly less than that of CIST during the entire course of the 
      disease (p < 0.001) and on an annual basis (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: IVIG therapy 
      is a safe, clinically beneficial, and less-expensive alternative treatment in 
      patients with progressive MMP that is nonresponsive to CIST.
FAU - Daoud, Yassine
AU  - Daoud Y
AD  - Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
FAU - Amin, Ketan G
AU  - Amin KG
FAU - Mohan, Krishn
AU  - Mohan K
FAU - Ahmed, A Razzaque
AU  - Ahmed AR
LA  - eng
PT  - Comparative Study
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
DEP - 20051101
PL  - United States
TA  - Ann Pharmacother
JT  - The Annals of pharmacotherapy
JID - 9203131
RN  - 0 (Immunoglobulins, Intravenous)
RN  - 0 (Immunosuppressive Agents)
SB  - IM
MH  - Aged
MH  - Cohort Studies
MH  - Drug Costs
MH  - Female
MH  - Hospitalization
MH  - Humans
MH  - Immunoglobulins, Intravenous/adverse effects/economics/*therapeutic use
MH  - Immunosuppressive Agents/adverse effects/economics/*therapeutic use
MH  - Male
MH  - Middle Aged
MH  - Pemphigoid, Benign Mucous Membrane/*drug therapy/economics/pathology
MH  - Retrospective Studies
EDAT- 2005/11/03 09:00
MHDA- 2006/03/16 09:00
CRDT- 2005/11/03 09:00
PHST- 2005/11/03 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2006/03/16 09:00 [medline]
PHST- 2005/11/03 09:00 [entrez]
AID - aph.1E595 [pii]
AID - 10.1345/aph.1E595 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Ann Pharmacother. 2005 Dec;39(12):2003-8. doi: 10.1345/aph.1E595. Epub 2005 Nov 
      1.