Polypharmacy in patients with multiple sclerosis and the impact on levels of care and therapy units.

Background

The aim of this study was to examine the societal costs of polypharmacy in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). We therefore focused on the association between the number of medications on the level of care (LOC), the German classification of the need for care, and the number of therapy sessions (TTU).

Methods

In addition to demographic information and medication, 101 MS patients performed the Multiple Sclerosis Health Resource Utilization Survey (MS-HRS). Medications were subdivided into a total number of medications (TD), MS-related medication [MSD, i.e., disease-modifying drugs (DMDs) and symptomatic treatment (SD)], and medication for comorbidities (CDs). Multivariate linear regression models were performed to estimate if the amount of each medication type affects LOC or TTU.

Results

Polypharmacy appeared in 54 patients at the time of the survey. The relative risk (RR) of LOC 1 increased significantly by 2.46 (

Conclusion

The number of MSDs is related to the likelihood of a higher level of care and the number of therapy sessions and is therefore a good indication of the extent of the societal costs.

Informations de copyright

Copyright © 2023 Brüggemann, Gross, Süße, Hok, Strauss, Ziemssen, Frahm, Zettl and Grothe.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.