Vaistų astmos ir lėtinės obstrukcinės plaučių ligos gydymui suvartojimas ir išlaidos Lietuvoje 2006-2009 metais

Objective: To evaluate the utilization and cost of drugs for the treatment of asthma and COPD in Lithuania in 2006-2009. Methodology: The data on the sales of drugs for asthma and COPD for the year 2006-2009 was obtained from SoftDent, JSC, database. The utilization of the R03 group (drugs for obstructive airway diseases) of the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification was analysed. The utilization was expressed as DDD/1000 inhabitants per day. The pharmacoeconomical analysis was performed implementing cost-minimisation and reference pricing methodologies. Results: The total use of drugs for asthma and COPD increased from 23,70 DDD/1000 inhabitants/day in 2006 to 28,67 DDD/1000 inhabitants/day in 2009. The most significant increase is found in the use of inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting β2-agonist combinations. The costs for drugs for the treatment of asthma and COPD increased from 59,71 million Litas in 2006 to 80,12 million Litas in 2008 and decreased to 79,25 million Litas in 2009. The use of drugs of the ATC group R03 is about 2 times higher in Norway, Denmark and Finland and about 1,6 times lower in Estonia. The pharmacoeconomical analysis shows marked savings if the lowest of the second lowest prices of one DDD were implemented as the reference price. The most considerable saving is found to be for inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting β2-agonist combinations – using the lowest basic price of one DDD as the reference price, total 18,04 million Litas would be saved. Conclusions: The utilization of drugs for asthma and COPD has a tendency to increase in Lithuania. The combinations of inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting β2-agonist take a major part in the market of drugs for obstructive airway diseases. Pharmacoeconomical estimations would let us use the resources of health-care budget more effectively