Sickle Cell Disease Complicated With EOD Significantly Raised Healthcare Costs

The study, published in the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy, was based on claims in the MarketScan Medicaid database, where 10,784 patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) were identified.

The researchers focused on the costs associated with end-organ damage (EOD) among patients diagnosed with SCD. This is already a costly disease, but coupled with EOD, the economic burden among patients in the United States jumps significantly higher.

The authors of the study used the earliest SCD diagnosis as the basis for the patient's index and tracked these patients within a 3-month interval. Patients with EOD significantly racked up healthcare costs due to extended hospital stays, more laboratory tests, access to the emergency department, and more outpatient visits compared to those patients without EOD.

Ze Cong, Ph.D., the corresponding author of Global Blood Therapeutics and his team, said that patients with EOD utilize more health care services per year, between 56 and 62 days on average, as compared to 21 to 25 days for patients with SCD who did not experience EOD.

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What is Sickle Cell Disease?

Sickle cell disease is a blood disorder that affects the hemoglobin, the protein in the red blood cells that carries oxygen to the cells throughout the body. 

Normal red blood cells are smooth, disk-shaped, and flexible, which makes it easier for them to move through the blood vessels. When the red blood cells sickle, they become stiff and sticky, and forms a C, or the shape of a sickle or crescent, hence its name. Because it is no longer flexible, it cannot move easily through the blood vessels. This may cause blockage in the smaller blood vessels, which interferes with the movement of the normal oxygen-carrying blood and can result in pain as well as stroke.

Due to the abnormal shape of these cells, it can interfere with the blood flow to the brain and cause severe brain damage. If you have one episode of stroke as a result of sickle cell anemia, you have higher chances of experiencing another stroke attack.

Red blood cells typically live up to 120 days, but with SCD, they die prematurely and may lead to anemia. 

Organ damage is one of the major complications of SCD as the abnormal shape of the red blood cells can inhibit the blood flow to the smaller blood vessels.

Living with SCD

SCD is a life-long condition, and stem cell or bone marrow transplants are the only known cure for SCD. However, it is seldom done due to the significant risks involved.

Management of SCD is usually focused on the alleviation of pain, relieving of symptoms, and early detection and treatment of symptoms to prevent further complications. Your health care provider may continuously monitor your growth and nutrition, as well as prescribed medications as preventive measures for infections. 

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