Cost of NSAID adverse effects to the UK National Health Service

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Abstract
SummaryNon-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are associated with gastrointestinal problems, notably dyspepsia and bleeding. These adverse effects are costly both in terms of acute hospital admissions and in co-prescribing of gastroprotective agents. The costs of these interventions has been estimated for the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK on the basis of a typical Primary Care Group (PCG) of 100,000 people, the whole population, and for the average patient prescribed an NSAID. The annual burden of NSAID-related gastrointestinal adverse effects to the NHS is large. The middle estimate for an average PCG was £435,000 (range £290,000 to £633,000). The middle estimate for the UK was £251 million (range £166 million to £367 million). The middle cost per patient prescribed an NSAID was £48 (range £32 to £70). As much as half of all acid-suppressing prescribing in the UK may be for NSAID-related gastrointestinal effects.