End-stage renal disease—financial costs and years of life lost in Panama: a cost-analysis study

OBJECTIVES: Central America is a region with an elevated burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD); however, the cost of treatment for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) remains an understudied area. This study aimed to investigate the direct costs associated with haemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) in public and private institutions in Panama in 2015, to perform a 5-year budget impact analysis and to calculate the years of life lost (YLL) due to CKD. DESIGN: A retrospective cost-analysis study using hospital costs and registry-based data. SETTING: Data on direct costs were derived from the public and private sectors from two institutions from Panama. Data on CKD-related mortality were obtained from the National Mortality Registry. METHODS: A budget impact analysis was performed from the payer perspective, and five scenarios were estimated, with the assumption that the mix of dialysis modality use shifts towards a greater use of PD over time. The YLL due to CKD was calculated using data recorded between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2015. The linear method was utilised for the analyses with the population aged 20–77 years old. RESULTS: In 2015, the total costs for dialysis in the public sector ranged from ~US$7.9 million (PD) to US$62 million (HD). The estimated costs were higher in the scenario in which a decrease in PD was assumed. The average annual loss due to CKD was 25 501 808.40 US$-YLL. CONCLUSION: ESRD represents a major challenge for Panama. Our results suggest that an increased use of PD might provide an opportunity to substantially lower overall ESRD treatment costs.