PSY196 - THE ECONOMIC BURDEN AND IMPACT ON QUALITY OF LIFE OF HERPES ZOSTER AND POSTHERPETIC NEURALGIA IN INDIVIDUALS AGED 50 YEARS OR OLDER IN ITALY

To estimate the impact on quality of life (QoL), the health care resource utilization and costs of Herpes Zoster (HZ) and Post-Herpetic Neuralgia (PHN) in adults aged ≥50 years in Italy. This was a prospective, observational, multi-centre, community-physician based study in Italy (NCT01772160). 391 subjects with HZ were included, 40 of whom developed PHN. Health related QoL data were collected using the EuroQoL5D (EQ-5D) and Zoster Brief Pain Inventory (ZBPI) questionnaires. Both questionnaires were assessed at day: 0 (HZ rash onset), 15, 30, 60, 90 for all subjects and then once every 30 days for subjects who developed PHN. Resource utilization was recorded for 3 months post HZ onset and for 9 months for PHN subjects. Costs from both a payer and societal perspective were estimated and were composed of direct medical costs (physician and specialist visits, procedures, hospitalisations, medications), productivity loss by subject/caregiver and transportation costs. For all HZ subjects the mean ZBPI worst pain score (Scale 0-10) was 5.7 at day 0, reducing to 2.6 at day 30 and 0.7 by day 90. Subjects with PHN had a mean worst pain score of 5.7 at day 90. We estimated a mean disutility associated with acute HZ (i.e. Day 0-30) of 0.134. A mean of 2.2 Physician and 0.14 specialist visits were observed per subject while 7 subjects required hospitalisation. The mean cost per HZ episode from a payer/societal perspective was €153/298, and €176/426 for subjects who developed PHN. The highest combined costs were observed in subjects with ocular complications. Medications accounted for 58% of the total direct medical cost. HZ and its related complications are associated with impaired QoL and substantial health care resource use. This highlights the need for preventive strategies to reduce the disease burden for patients and health care systems.