Study Shows That Low-Molecular Weight Heparin (LMWH) was Associated with Reduced Hospital Costs of Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) Treatment Compared with Unfractionated Hep...( -Patients treated with Lovenox(R) (e...),Health

-Patients treated with Lovenox(R) (enoxaparin sodium injection) were also

less likely to be readmitted to hospital within 90 days-

BRIDGEWATER, N.J., Dec 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sanofi-aventis announced today the results of a study that demonstrated total hospital direct medical costs associated with VTE treatment are reduced by $550 per patient when they were treated with the use of low-molecular weight heparin (LMWH) vs. unfractionated heparin (UFH) with 97.3% of LMWH patients receiving Lovenox. Patients who received LMWH were also less likely to be readmitted to the hospital with a VTE recurrence within 90 days. The findings were presented at American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting (ASH) in Atlanta, GA.

The current healthcare and economic burden of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in U.S. hospitals is significant. In patients with confirmed VTE, evidence- based guidelines recommend treatment for a minimum of five days with either a low-molecular weight heparin (LMWH, such as Lovenox) or UFH. However, in the real-world practice, the total hospital direct medical costs and VTE-related readmission rates of these VTE treatment regimens are not clear.

A retrospective real-world cohort study examining discharge and billing records from the Premier Perspective(TM) database included discharges of patients less than 18 years old and with a primary diagnosis of VTE from January 2003 through June 2005. Only VTE patients who were treated with either LMWH or UFH were included in the study. Total hospital direct medical costs associated with VTE treatment (including drug costs, hospital costs, and professional costs) were quantified and compared for patients receiving UFH and LMWH. Furthermore, VTE-related readmission rates at days 30 and 90 post- discharge were compared for both patient cohorts. Total direct medical costs (US $) were compared using multivariate statistics, adjusting for patient and hospital characteristics. Logistic
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