Intravenous versus subcutaneous immunoglobulin in patients with haematological malignancies: time-driven activity-based costing

Abstract

Purpose: Prophylactic immunoglobulin (Ig) is used to prevent infections in patients with hypogammaglobulinaemia due to haematological malignancies (HM). Ig can be administered intravenously (IVIg) in hospital or self-administered subcutaneously (SCIg) at home, using different dosing regimens but with comparable effectiveness. In Australia, Ig product costs alone were AU$915.7 million in 2022/2023, 60% of the national blood budget. However, the total cost of IVIg and SCIg, including administration costs, remains uncertain. Methods: We conducted a prospective, time-driven, activity-based costing study to compare the costs of providing IVIg and SCIg to patients with HM from an Australian he..