Evaluation of a Pharmacy-Driven Calcitonin Protocol for Treating Hypercalcemia in Hospitalized Patients: A Multisite Study

Abstract

Background: The dramatic increase in the acquisition cost of injectable calcitonin led to creating a pharmacy-driven calcitonin protocol to improve the appropriate use of calcitonin and other treatment modalities for hypercalcemia. Objective: This study aimed to characterize the use of calcitonin before and after implementation of a pharmacy-driven calcitonin protocol. Methods: This was a multi-center, retrospective study of the use of injectable calcitonin in adult hospitalized patients with hypercalcemia. The study included patients treated with calcitonin from October 2014 to September 2016 and from October 2017 to September 2019. The primary outcomes were percentage of patients with a complete response, partial response, and non-responders. The secondary outcomes were time to relapse, duration of partial response, number of doses, and associated costs of calcitonin. Results: Of the 131 patients included in this study, 93 were included in a pre-protocol group and 38 were included in a post-protocol group. The primary outcome of complete response by 3 days was met in 28% of patients in the pre-protocol group and 53% of patients in the post-protocol group (P = 0.007). Calcitonin spending in dollars in the pre-protocol group was $818,956 compared to $224,320 in the post-protocol group; a difference of $594,636. Conclusion: Implementation of a pharmacy-driven calcitonin protocol effectively improved calcium levels, reduced inappropriate calcitonin use, and reduced calcitonin spending during a period of 2 fiscal years.