Pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy and resource utilization in patients with chronic pancreatitis in a US healthcare system: a retrospective study.

Objective: To assess the association between pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) and resource utilization among patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP) in a large Midwestern US healthcare system.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study used electronic medical record data. Eligible patients (N = 2445) were aged ≥18 years and diagnosed with non-cystic fibrosis CP between January 2005 and December 2018, with ≥6 months' follow-up; study initiation was first encounter with the healthcare system. Patients in the PERT group were prescribed PERT at ≥1 encounter; patients in the non-PERT group were not prescribed PERT at any encounter.

Results: In total, 62,899 encounters were reviewed (PERT, n = 22,935; non-PERT, n = 39,964). More patients in the PERT group were younger, male, White, married/partnered and with private insurance than those in the non-PERT group. They also received longer care and had more overall encounters, fewer outpatient and day surgery/24-hour observation encounters, and more inpatient encounters. Emergency room encounters were similar between groups. Average cost by encounter was similar between groups ($225 and $213, respectively).

Conclusions: Despite similar average costs per encounter, the groups had very different encounter types. More inferential research on PERT use among patients with CP is needed, particularly regarding resource utilization and long-term outcomes.