Pharmacological Treatment and its Costs in COVID-19 Decedents

Abstract

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has presented a challenge for pharmaceutical services due to the limited evidence available for most of the drugs used.

Objective: To identify drug-related problems, negative outcomes associated with medication and cost due to drug consumption in patients who died from COVID-19 in Cuba.

Methods: Descriptive observational study that included 30 of the 84 deaths due to COVID-19 during the first quarter of 2021. Negative outcomes associated with the medication were classified into: necessity, effectiveness and safety; not manifested and manifested. A partial economic evaluation of the type of cost description was developed with an institutional perspective and a time horizon equivalent to the length of hospital stay. Only direct institutional costs for drug consumption were considered. Micro costing was used and they were expressed in Cuban pesos.

Results: All patients were older than 60 years of age, 70.0% were men.

A total of 143 medication-related problems were identified; 53.8% were reported. The most frequent negative result associated with medication (57/39.8%) was effectiveness. The cost per patient-day for medication consumption was 13,877.87 Cuban pesos (D.E. 1905.13 Cuban pesos), and the total cost was 423,131.57.

Conclusions: The main comorbidities were arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus and ischemic heart disease. Negative results of the medication were identified in all patients, most of them related to problems with the effectiveness of the treatment. The total expenditure for the consumption of these drugs was close to half a million Cuban pesos, mostly due to the specific treatment of COVID-19, generating an expenditure per patient day of 2000 Cuban pesos.