Drugs - real world outcomes
June 1, 2024
Lisa Harding, Kruti Joshi, Maryia Zhdanava et al.
5 citations
Adults with treatment-resistant depression who completed induction treatment with esketamine nasal spray showed reductions in acute healthcare costs, particularly among those who had prior mental health-related hospitalizations or emergency visits. In a cohort of 322 patients, mean all-cause acute healthcare costs per patient per month fell from $837 before treatment to $770 after, while mental health-related costs dropped from $648 to $577. Among 111 patients with prior acute care use, all-cause costs decreased from $2,323 to $1,423, driven by mental health-related cost reductions from $1,880 to $1,139. Patients generally took longer than the label-recommended 28 days to complete the eight induction sessions, averaging 73 days. Most patients continued with maintenance sessions.
Drugs - real world outcomes
December 1, 2024
Michał Pastuszak, Wiesław Jerzy Cubała, Aleksander Kwaśny
3 citations
After a course of ketamine infusions, many patients with bipolar depression still experience residual symptoms, even when their overall depression scores improve. In a real-world analysis of 22 patients receiving ketamine while continuing their usual medications, 14 responded to treatment. The most common lingering symptoms were sad mood (85.7% of responders), a pessimistic view of the future (78.6%), difficulty falling asleep, and low physical energy (both 71.4%). Difficulty falling asleep and sad mood were also rated as the most severe. These findings highlight that functional recovery may require targeting specific residual symptoms beyond overall mood improvement.
Drugs - real world outcomes
March 1, 2025
Manish K Jha, Maryia Zhdanava, Aditi Shah et al.
1 citation
Among US adults with treatment-resistant depression, those who started esketamine nasal spray had fewer mental-health-related disability days and lower associated costs six months later compared with the month before starting treatment. In the esketamine group, disability days fell by an average of 0.4 days and costs dropped by $312 per patient per month. Trends for other therapies varied: transcranial magnetic stimulation showed a $123 cost reduction with no change in disability days, second-generation antipsychotic augmentation showed little change, and electroconvulsive therapy was linked to increases in both disability days and costs. The findings suggest esketamine may reduce disability burden, but the study was descriptive and lacked statistical comparisons.