Comparisons of 30-Day Admission and 30-Day Total Healthcare Costs Between Patients Who Were Treated With Oritavancin or Vancomycin for a Skin Infection in the Outpatient Setting

OBJECTIVE: Hospital admission is a key cost driver among patients with skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI). Data suggest that many SSTI patients are hospitalized unnecessarily and can be managed effectively and safely in an outpatient setting at a substantially lower cost. Oritavancin (ORI) is a single-dose treatment that has the potential to shift care from the inpatient to the outpatient setting. This study sought to compare the 30-day hospital admission rates and mean healthcare costs among SSTI patients who received outpatient ORI or vancomycin (VAN). METHOD: Over a 1-year period, outpatient prescription claims for VAN and ORI among patients with SSTIs and no hospitalization in past 3 days were for VAN and ORI were analyzed using a retrospective cohort analysis of the Truven Health MarketScan Databases. RESULTS: During the study period, 120 and 6695 patients who received ORI and VAN, respectively, met inclusion criteria. Groups were well matched at baseline. After covariate adjustment, patients who received ORI had a significantly lower 30- day admission rate versus patients who received VAN (6.1% vs 16.2%, respectively; P = .003). Mean healthcare costs 30-day post index were comparable between ORI and VAN patients ($12 695 vs $12 717, respectively; P = 1.0). CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that ORI provides a single-dose alternative to multidose VAN for treatment of SSTI in the outpatient setting and may result in lower 30-day hospital admission rates.