[Economic burden of hepatitis C patients and related influencing factors in Guangdong province].

Objective: To investigate the economic burden of hepatitis C patients and related factors in Guangdong province. Methods: In this study, cluster sampling method was used to select cases, including acute hepatitis C, chronic hepatitis C and liver cirrhosis cases from eligible outpatients and inpatients in 1 or 2 large general hospitals in all the 21 cities in Guangdong province. Questionnaire survey was conducted for all the hepatitis C patients to analyze their economic burden, while multivariate linear regression model was used to identify the related influencing factors. Results: A total of 356 hepatitis C patients were enrolled in the study, with 176 outpatients (49.4%) and 180 inpatients (50.6%) respectively. The average age of the study subjects was (44.79±11.73) year-olds. The annual direct economic costs of patients with acute hepatitis C, chronic hepatitis C and liver cirrhosis were 10 703.22 (IQR: 7 396.75-16 891.91), 14 886.63 (IQR: 7 274.00-30 228.25) and 28 874.00 (IQR: 13 093.69-56 350.00) Yuan (RMB) respectively. The annual indirect costs appeared as 2 426.99 (IQR: 1 912.18-7 354.52), 3 235.99 (IQR: 1 323.81-6 619.07) and 5 442.35 (IQR: 3 235.99-10 296.33) Yuan (RMB) respectively. The annual intangible costs were 5 000.00 (IQR:2 000.00-10 000.00), 10 000.00 (IQR: 4 000.00-30 000.00) and 10 000.00 (IQR: 3 000.00-100 000.00) Yuan (RMB) respectively. The annual total costs were 22 306.17 (IQR: 14 581.24-50 569.17), 38 050.33 (IQR: 17 449.57-68 319.62) and 80 152.18 (IQR: 40 856.09-228 460.79) Yuan (RMB) respectively. Results from the multiple linear regression analysis showed that factors as: annual hospitalization days, annual number of outpatient visits, annual number of hospitalization, type of disease and the levels of the hospitals were related to the economic burden of patients with hepatitis C. Conclusion: Patients with HCV-related diseases presented serious economic problem which calls for close attention in Guangdong province.目的： 了解广东省丙型肝炎（丙肝）患者的经济负担以及相关因素。 方法： 2016年1－3月，采用整群抽样方法，从广东省21个城市中选取丙肝报告病例较多的1~2家大型综合医院作为研究现场，所有符合纳入标准的门诊和住院丙肝患者均作为研究对象，统一进行问卷调查，分析丙肝患者的经济负担现状；多元线性回归分析研究丙肝的经济负担的相关因素。 结果： 共调查356例丙肝患者，门诊和住院病例分别为176例（占49.4%）和180例（占50.6%），年龄（44.79±11.73）岁。急性丙肝、慢性丙肝和肝硬化患者的年直接经济费用分别为10 703.22（IQR：7 396.75~16 891.91）、14 886.63（IQR：7 274.00~30 228.25）和28 874.00（IQR：13 093.69~56 350.00）元；年间接费用分别为2 426.99（IQR：1 912.18~7 354.52）、3 235.99（IQR：1 323.81~6 619.07）和5 442.35（IQR：3 235.99~10 296.33）元；年无形费用分别为5 000.00（IQR：2 000.00~10 000.00）、10 000.00（IQR：4 000.00~30 000.00）和10 000.00（IQR：3 000.00~100 000.00）元；年总经济费用分别为22 306.17（IQR：14 581.24~50 569.17）、38 050.33（IQR：17 449.57~68 319.62）和80 152.18（IQR：40 856.09~228 460.79）元。多元线性回归分析结果显示，年住院日数、年门诊次数、年住院次数、疾病类型和医院级别是丙肝患者经济负担的相关因素。 结论： 广东省丙肝患者的经济负担严重，应采取相应措施减轻丙肝患者的经济负担，同时控制无形费用的支出。.