Background: Rituximab (RTX) is increasingly used for the treatment of pemphigus and pemphigoid disorders. The high cost of RTX frequently limits its use and access.
Objective: To determine the health system resources and costs associated with RTX treatment of pemphigus and pemphigoid.
Methods: Health system resources and costs attributed to a convenience sample of 89 patients with either pemphigus or pemphigoid were identified, quantified, and valued 6 months prior to and following RTX initiation between May 2006 and August 2012. Overall cohort costs and costs per patient were calculated (2013 Can$).
Results: The overall cohort cost for 6 months pre-RTX was $3.8 million and for 6 months post-RTX was $2.6 million. The average cost per patient decreased from $42,231 to $29,423 (30.3% decrease). The main cost driver was intravenous immunoglobulin.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that RTX is effective in reducing health system resources and the costs associated with the treatment of pemphigus and pemphigoid.
© 2014 Canadian Dermatology Association.