Health Care Resource Use and Medical Costs Among Patients With Major Depressive Disorder and Acute Suicidal Ideation or Behavior Initiated on Esketamine Nasal Spray or Traditional Treatments in the United States.
Clinical therapeutics March 1, 2025 Lisa Harding, Maryia Zhdanava, Amanda Teeple et al. 3 citations
Patients with major depressive disorder accompanied by acute suicidal ideation or behavior who were started on esketamine nasal spray had fewer acute care hospital days and lower medical costs per month than those receiving electroconvulsive therapy or an antidepressant augmented with a second-generation antipsychotic. Among 122 esketamine users, mean acute care use was 0.59 days per month, a 58% decrease from before treatment, compared with 3.17 days (44% increase) for 336 ECT patients and 0.92 days (21% decrease) for 9,958 patients on augmentation therapy. Medical costs per patient per month were $1,869 for esketamine, $4,624 for ECT, and $2,163 for augmentation. The findings suggest esketamine may be associated with lower resource use and cost reductions relative to other treatments.