Hospital care pathway of women treated for Bartholin’s gland abscess and budget impact analysis of outpatient management: A national hospital database analysis

Abstract

IntroductionBartholin's gland abscesses cause severe pain and are a source of frequent emergency room visits. The most widespread treatment in France is incision-drainage during hospitalisation. A Word catheter, whose efficiency and safety would be identical, could be used without the need for hospitalisation, thus reducing the costs of Bartholin's gland abscess management. DesignRetrospective cohort study. SettingFrench hospital (PMSI) database 2016-2017. Population3539 women with Bartholin's gland abscess. MethodFrom the PMSI database, we identified the population that was treated for incision-drainage of a Bartholin's gland abscess in 2016. We also looked for secondary hospitalisations occurring within 12 months of initial treatment of Bartholin's gland abscess using 2016 and 2017 PMSI database data. Main outcome(s)The identified population was described in terms of age, hospitalisation, length of stay and readmissions within 12 months and provided a 5-year budget impact analysis of the use of the Word catheter in France from a National Health Insurance perspective. ResultsIn 2016, 3539 women (36 +/- 11.8 years) were hospitalised for 3646 incisions of the major vestibular gland linked to a Bartholin's gland abscess. 11.38 % (403/3,539) underwent at least one new Bartholin's gland procedure during the following year. The use of the Word catheter would allow potential savings over 5 years of €7.4 million. ConclusionThe use of the Word catheter could be cost-saving. These results must be validated by a clinical research step evaluating efficiency in the French context, comparing the Word catheter and incision-drainage side-by-side.