Outcomes of Antiviral Treatment for Influenza in Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the long-term effects of antiviral treatment on influenza-related health care resource utilization (HCRU) and costs in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and a diagnosis of influenza. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. METHODS: Claims data from the IBM MarketScan Commercial Claims Database were used to identify patients with T2D and a diagnosis of influenza between October 1, 2016, and April 30, 2017. Patients who received antiviral treatment within 2 days of influenza diagnosis were identified and propensity score-matched 1:1 with a comparator cohort of untreated patients. HCRU (number of outpatient visits, emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and duration of hospitalization) and costs were assessed over 1 full year and over each quarter after influenza diagnosis. RESULTS: Treated and untreated matched cohorts consisted of 2459 patients each. In the treated cohort vs the untreated cohort, emergency department visits were reduced 24.6% over 1 year after influenza diagnosis (mean [SD], 0.94 [1.76] vs 1.24 [2.47] visits; P < .0001) and were also reduced significantly during each quarter; the duration of hospitalization decreased 35.6% in the treated cohort vs the untreated cohort over 1 full year (mean [SD], 0.71 [3.36] vs 1.11 [5.60] days; P < .0023). Mean (SD) total health care costs were 17.68% lower in the treated cohort ($20,212 [$58,627]) than in the untreated cohort ($24,552 [$71,830]) over a whole year following the index influenza visit (P = .0203). CONCLUSIONS: Antiviral treatment in patients with T2D and influenza was associated with significantly lower HCRU and costs over at least 1 year after infection.