Cost‐of‐illness of patients with chronic hand eczema in routine care: results from a multicentre study in Germany

Chronic hand eczema places a heavy burden on patients, often affecting their ability to work. This paper compares the cost-of-illness and treatment approaches for patients with refractory chronic hand eczema, in relation to whether the disease was occupational or unrelated to work factors. Data from 2 surveys, comprising 310 patients with chronic hand eczema insured by German statutory health insurance (SHI) (including work-impaired patients, work-unaffected patients and non-working patients) and known work-related chronic hand eczema insured by occupational health insurance (OHI). Annual healthcare costs of managing work-impaired patients (SHI) and patients with work-related chronic hand eczema (OHI) were €3,164 and €3,309, respectively, approximately double the costs of managing non-working and work-unaffected (SHI) patients. This analysis shows that the costs associated with chronic hand eczema are affected by the correlation of chronic hand eczema with work, with costs being higher for occupational patients with chronic hand eczema.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The recent multicentre German study to determine the cost-of-illness in patients with CHE in routine care (6) showed that CHE costs are correlated with disease severity. The analysis presented here adds a further important cost driver -CHE caused-by and impactingon work function.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cost-of-illness Analysis of Patients with Chronic Hand Eczema in Routine Care in Germany: Focus on the Impact of Occupational Disease

Diepgen¹,

Purwins²,

Posthumus³

et al. 2013

“…In addition, CHE is the most common occupational disease and therefore of high socioeconomic impact (11,12). Health-related costs and quality of life in CHE have also been investigated in several studies during the past years (13)(14)(15)(16). It has become clear that prevention of this costly and disabling disease is an issue of great importance.…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

Chronic Hand Eczema: Perception and Knowledge in Non-affected Individuals from General and Dermatological Practice

Letulé¹,

Herzinger²,

Schirner³

et al. 2014

Misunderstanding and stigmatisation are common problems encountered by patients with hand eczema. Various misconceptions about the disease circulate in the general population. Although hand eczema has gained more attention in dermatology during the past years, information on public perception of the disease is still lacking. The aim of our study was to investigate perception of and level of knowledge on the subject hand eczema. There were 624 patients included from 2 general medicine practices and 2 dermatological practices. A self-administered questionnaire was filled out by the participants, covering issues on history of hand eczema, level of knowledge and attitude towards a clinical photograph of hand eczema. We found that a larger proportion of individuals from dermatological practice were more familiar with hand eczema as a disease than those from general medical practice. Women knew significantly more about and had a more positive perception of the disease than men. Our results imply that the level of knowledge on hand eczema in the general public is rather low and influenced by prejudice.

“…Severe hand eczema resulting in prolonged disability is associated with a high health economic burden and significant loss of quality of life (7,8). Although numerous treatment options are available, the management of CHE is often difficult and unsatisfactory.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficacy and Tolerability of Alitretinoin for Chronic Hand Eczema Under Daily Practice Conditions: Results of the TOCCATA Open Study Comprising 680 Patients

Diepgen¹,

Pfarr²,

Zimmermann³

2012

This non-interventional observational open study (TOCCATA, sponsored by Basilea Pharmaceutica Germany) investigated the use of alitretinoin to treat chronic hand eczema under daily "real life" medical practice conditions in Germany. A total of 349 dermatologists through-out Germany enrolled 680 adult patients with chronic hand eczema. Patients were prescribed and treated with alitretinoin in accordance with the summary of product characteristics. The maximum observation duration was 24 weeks, with efficacy and safety parameters evaluated every 4 weeks. Efficacy was primarily evaluated by assessing disease severity according to the Physician Global Assessment. In total, 56.7% of patients achieved a Physician Global Assessment rating of "clear" or "almost clear" hands, with only small differences in patients with different morphological forms: hyperkeratotic-rhagadiform (59.2%), fingertip (52.2%) and vesicular (47.9%). This observational study demonstrates the effectiveness and tolerability of alitretinoin in everyday clinical practice in addition to the known efficacy and safety obtain-ed by randomized controlled clinical trials.