Hospital care of endometriosis in Spain: a retrospective multicenter analysis of patient characteristics and costs

ABSTRACT

Background

Despite the potential serious outcomes associated with endometriosis, few data is available describing the real clinical practice and costs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of patients diagnosed with endometriosis in Spain, to measure incidences within the hospital setting and the associated medical costs.

Methods: Admission records of patients with endometriosis registered between 2009 and 2018 were obtained from a Spanish hospital discharge database and analyzed in a retrospective multicenter study.

Results

Data corresponded primarily to inpatient admissions, with a median length of stay of 3 days. Length of stay correlated with patients’ age. Admissions were mainly associated with surgical procedures, namely local excision or destruction of lesions. The majority of secondary diagnoses registered corresponded to inflammatory disease of female pelvic organs; 9.2% of patients presented neoplasms of uterus and only 0.9% registered ovarian neoplasms. Mean admission cost was €3566 over the study period.

Conclusions

The majority of admissions reviewed in this study corresponded to the removal of ovarian lesions, although data suggested a decrease in the number of cases that were treated as hospital inpatient admissions over the study period. Older patients, surgical procedures, and lengthier admissions were associated with higher medical costs.

KEYWORDS:

• Endometriosis
• hospital incidence
• direct medical costs
• Spain

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

Reviewers Disclosure

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial relationships or otherwise to disclose.

Author contributions

JD contributed to the investigation by analyzing and interpreting the burden associated to endometriosis in Spain and was a major contribution in the intellectual content revision. AM analyzed the current situation of endometriosis in Spain, interpreted the statistical data and was a major contributor in writing the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethics committee approval and consent were not required for this study.

Data availability statement

Data sharing is restricted due to legal stipulations, yet the data that support the findings of this study is fully available from the Spanish Ministry of Health via the Unit of Health Care Information and Statistics (Spanish Institute of Health Information) for researchers who meet the criteria for access to confidential data at https://www.mscbs.gob.es/estadEstudios/sanidadDatos/home.htm.