CLinical Prediction Rule Score in Veterans

The purpose of this project is to study the out-patient and inpatient utilization and costs associated with tophaceous gout (a classic form of treatment-failure gout), compare these costs to patients with non-tophaceous gout and evaluate health utilities associated with these gout states. The analyses will be conducted in a manner to support a burden of illness type of presentation / manuscript.

Study Questions

1. What are the VA health care costs (inpatient and outpatient) for patients with gout compared to those without gout?
2. Does health utility, as calculated by SF-6D, differ in patients with gout compared to patients without gout and between tophaceous and non-tophaceous gout?
3. What are the relationships between costs and health utility?
4. How does the burden of illness differ by subgroups of gout patients (costs and utilities)?
5. What are the VA health care costs for patients with tophaceous gout and are they higher than patients with non-tophaceous gout?

Inclusion criteria Patients with and without gout from the Veterans database described above will be included in the analyses for Study aims 1 and 5. This is approximately 3000 gout patients and 67,000 non-gout patients

Patients with SF-36 data from the above cohort will be included in the analyses for Study aims 2-4. This is approximately 1500 gout patients and 38,000 non-gout patients