Disparity in socio-economic status explains the pattern of self-medication of antibiotics in India: Understanding from game-theoretic perspective

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance has raised great concern for public health in many lower-income countries including India. Socio-economic determinants like poverty, health expenditure and awareness accelerate this emergence by influencing individuals' attitudes and healthcare practices such as self-medication. This self-medication practice is highly prevalent in many countries, where antibiotics are available without prescriptions. Thus, complex dynamics of drug- resistance driven by economy, human behaviour, and disease epidemiology poses a serious threat to the community, which has been less emphasized in prior studies. Here, we formulate a game-theoretic model of human choices in self-medication integrating economic growth and disease transmission processes. We show that this adaptive behaviour emerges spontaneously in the population through a self-reinforcing process and continual feedback from the economy, resulting in the emergence of resistance as externalities of human choice under resource constraints situations. We identify that the disparity between social-optimum and individual interest in self-medication is primarily driven by the effectiveness of treatment, health awareness and public health interventions. Frequent multiple-peaks of resistant strains are also observed when individuals imitate others more readily and self-medication is more likely. Our model exemplifies that timely public health intervention for financial risk protection, and antibiotic stewardship policies can improve the epidemiological situation and prevent economic collapse.S.B. thanks Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), DST, India for financial support (ECR/2016/ 000591) to conduct this researc

A cross-sectional survey of the models in Bihar and Tamil Nadu, India for pooled procurement of medicines

ABSTRACT Background: In India, access to medicine in the public sector is significantly affected by the efficiency of the drug procurement system and allied processes and policies. This study was conducted in two socioeconomically different states: Bihar and Tamil Nadu. Both have a pooled procurement system for drugs but follow different models. In Bihar, the volumes of medicines required are pooled at the state level and rate contracted (an open tender process invites bidders to quote for the lowest rate for the list of medicines), while actual invoicing and payment are done at district level. In Tamil Nadu, medicine quantities are also pooled at state level but payments are also processed at state level upon receipt of laboratory quality-assurance reports on the medicines

Quantifying antibiotic use in typhoid fever in India: a cross-sectional analysis of private sector medical audit data, 2013-2015

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the antibiotic prescription rates for typhoid in India. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Private sector primary care clinicians in India. PARTICIPANTS: The data came from prescriptions of a panel of 4600 private sector primary care clinicians selected through a multistage stratified random sampling accounting for the region, specialty type and patient turnover. The data had 671 million prescriptions for antibiotics extracted from the IQVIA database for the years 2013, 2014 and 2015. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Mean annual antibiotic prescription rates; sex-specific and age-specific prescription rates; distribution of antibiotic class. RESULTS: There were 8.98 million antibiotic prescriptions per year for typhoid, accounting for 714 prescriptions per 100 000 population. Children 10-19 years of age represented 18.6% of the total burden in the country in absolute numbers, 20-29 year age group had the highest age-specific rate, and males had a higher average rate (844/100 000) compared with females (627/100 000). Ten different antibiotics accounted for 72.4% of all prescriptions. Cefixime-ofloxacin combination was the preferred drug of choice for typhoid across all regions except the south. Combination antibiotics are the preferred choice of prescribers for adult patients, while cephalosporins are the preferred choice for children and young age. Quinolones were prescribed as monotherapy in 23.0% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: Nationally representative private sector antibiotic prescription data during 2013-2015 indicate a higher disease burden of typhoid in India than previously estimated. The total prescription rate shows a declining trend. Young adult patients account for close to one-third of the cases and children less than 10 years account for more than a million cases annually.SFK is supported by The Rockefeller Foundation–Boston University 3-D Commission as a Research Fellow (2019 HTH 024)

Antibiotic prescriptions for oral diseases in India: evidence from national prescription data

Introduction: The key objective of this research was to describe the prescription rate of various antibiotics for dental problems in India and to study the relevance of the prescriptions by analysing antibiotic types associated with different dental diagnoses, using a large-scale nationally representative dataset. Methods: We used a 12-month period (May 2015 to April 2016) medical audit dataset from IQVIA (formerly IMS Health). We coded the dental diagnosis provided in the medical audit data to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-11) and the prescribed antibiotics for the diagnosis to the Anatomic Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) -2020 classification of the World Health Organization. The primary outcome measure was the medicine prescription rate per 1,000 persons per year (PRPY1000). Results: Our main findings were—403 prescriptions per 1,000 persons per year in the year 2015 -2016 for all dental ailments. Across all ATC level 1 classification, ‘Diseases of hard tissues’ made up the majority of the prescriptions. ‘Beta-lactam’, ‘Penicillin,’ and ‘Cephalosporins’ were the most commonly prescribed antibiotics for dental diagnoses followed by ‘Macrolides’ and ‘Quinolones’. ‘Dental caries’, ‘Discoloration of tooth’, and ‘Toothache’ were the most common reasons for ‘Beta-Lactams’ and ‘Penicillin’ prescriptions. Conclusion: To conclude our study reports first ever country (India) level estimates of antibiotic prescription by antibiotic classes, age groups, and ICD-11 classification for dental ailments

Systemic antibiotic sales and WHO recommendations, India.

To analyse sales of fixed-dose combination and single antibiotics in India in relation to World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations and national regulatory efforts to control antibiotic sales. We extracted data on sales volumes of systemic antibiotics in India from a market research company sales database. We compared the market share of antibiotic sales in 2020 by WHO AWaRe (Access, Watch and Reserve) category and for those under additional national regulatory controls. We also analysed sales of fixed-dose combinations that were: formally approved for marketing or had a no-objection certificate; on the national essential medicines list; and on the WHO list of not-recommended antibiotics. There were 78 single and 112 fixed-dose combination antibiotics marketed in India, accounting for 7.6 and 4.5 billion standard units of total sales, respectively. Access, Watch and Reserve antibiotics comprised 5.8, 5.6 and 0.1 billion standard units of total market sales, respectively. All additionally controlled antibiotics were Watch and Reserve antibiotics (23.6%; 2.9 billion standard units of total sales). Fixed-dose combinations on the WHO not-recommended list were marketed in 229 formulations, with 114 formulations (49.8%) having no record of formal approval or no-objection certificate. While there were no not-recommended fixed-dose combinations on the national list of essential medicines, 13 of the top-20 selling antibiotic fixed-dose combinations were WHO not-recommended. The sale of Watch group drugs, and antibiotics banned or not approved, needs active investigation and enforcement in India. The evidence base underpinning formal approvals and no-objection certificates for not-recommended fixed-dose combinations should be audited. Analyser les ventes d'antibiotiques en association fixe et à dose unique en Inde, à la lumière des recommandations de l'Organisation mondiale de la Santé (OMS) et des efforts de réglementation à l'échelle nationale visant à contrôler la vente d'antibiotiques. Nous avons prélevé des données relatives aux volumes de vente d'antibiotiques systémiques en Inde dans la base de données commerciales d'une société d'études de marché. Nous avons ensuite comparé la part de marché qu'occupe, en 2020, la vente d'antibiotiques appartenant à chaque catégorie AWaRe (Access, Watch and Reserve) établie par l'OMS, mais aussi de ceux ciblés par des mesures nationales de contrôle supplémentaires. Enfin, nous avons examiné les ventes d'associations fixes: dont la commercialisation a été officiellement approuvée ou qui ont fait l'objet d'un certificat de non-objection; figurant sur la liste nationale de médicaments essentiels; et reprises dans la liste des antibiotiques non recommandés par l'OMS. Nous avons comptabilisé 78 antibiotiques à dose unique et 112 antibiotiques en association fixe sur le marché indien, représentant respectivement 7,6 et 4,5 milliards d'unités standard sur l'ensemble des ventes. Les antibiotiques des catégories Access (dont l'accessibilité est essentielle), Watch (à utiliser sélectivement) et Reserve (de réserve, non recommandés) équivalaient à 5,8 milliards, 5,6 milliards et 0,1 milliard d'unités standard sur le total des transactions. Tous les antibiotiques soumis à des contrôles supplémentaires faisaient partie des catégories Watch et Reserve (23,6%; 2,9 milliards d'unités standard sur l'ensemble des ventes). Des associations fixes déconseillées par l'OMS étaient commercialisées dans 229 formulations, dont 114 (49,8%) ne possédaient ni attestation d'approbation officielle, ni certificat de non-objection. Bien qu'aucune association fixe déconseillée ne soit mentionnée sur la liste nationale de médicaments essentiels, 13 des 20 antibiotiques en association fixe les plus vendus n'étaient pas recommandés par l'OMS. Il est nécessaire de mener une enquête approfondie en Inde sur la vente de médicaments appartenant à la catégorie Watch et d'antibiotiques interdits ou non approuvés, et de prendre des mesures concrètes. Les preuves sur lesquelles reposent les autorisations officielles et les certificats de non-objection pour les associations fixes non recommandées doivent être vérifiées. Analizar las ventas de los antibióticos combinados en dosis fijas y en dosis únicas en la India en relación con las recomendaciones de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) y los esfuerzos nacionales de regulación para controlar las ventas de los antibióticos. Se extrajeron datos sobre los volúmenes de ventas de antibióticos sistémicos en la India de una base de datos de ventas de empresas de investigación de mercado. Se comparó la cuota de mercado de las ventas de antibióticos en 2020 por categoría AWaRe (Access, Watch and Reserve) de la OMS y para los que estaban sometidos a controles regulatorios nacionales adicionales. También se analizaron las ventas de combinaciones en dosis fijas que estaban: formalmente aprobadas para su comercialización o tenían un certificado de no objeción; en la lista nacional de medicamentos esenciales; y en la lista de antibióticos no recomendados de la OMS. En la India se comercializaron 78 antibióticos en dosis única y 112 antibióticos combinados en dosis fijas, que representaron 7,6 y 4,5 mil millones de unidades estándar de ventas totales, respectivamente. Los antibióticos de acceso, vigilancia y reserva supusieron 5,8, 5,6 y 0,1 mil millones de unidades estándar de las ventas totales del mercado, respectivamente. Todos los antibióticos controlados adicionalmente fueron antibióticos de vigilancia y reserva (23,6 %; 2,9 mil millones de unidades estándar de las ventas totales). Las combinaciones en dosis fijas incluidas en la lista no recomendada de la OMS se comercializaron en 229 formulaciones, de las que 114 (49,8 %) no tenían registro de aprobación formal ni certificado de no objeción. Mientras que no había combinaciones en dosis fijas no recomendadas en la lista nacional de medicamentos esenciales, 13 de las 20 combinaciones en dosis fijas de antibióticos más vendidas no estaban recomendadas por la OMS. Se debe investigar y controlar activamente la venta de medicamentos del grupo Watch y de antibióticos prohibidos o no aprobados en la India. Asimismo, se debe auditar la base de pruebas que sustenta las aprobaciones formales y los certificados de no objeción para las combinaciones en dosis fijas no recomendadas.الغرض تحليل مبيعات تركيبة الجرعة الثابتة، والمضادات الحيوية المفردة في الهند فيما يتعلق بتوصيات منظمة الصحة العالمية (WHO)، والجهود التنظيمية الوطنية للتحكم في مبيعات المضادات الحيوية. الطريقة قمنا باستخراج بيانات عن أحجام مبيعات المضادات الحيوية الجهازية في الهند من قاعدة بيانات مبيعات شركة أبحاث السوق. قمنا بمقارنة الحصة السوقية لمبيعات المضادات الحيوية في عام 2020 حسب فئة AWaRe (الوصول والمراقبة والاحتياطي) التابعة لمنظمة الصحة العالمية (WHO)، وتلك التي تخضع للضوابط التنظيمية الوطنية الإضافية. كما قمنا أيضًا بتحليل مبيعات تركيبات الجرعة الثابتة التي تم: الموافقة عليها رسميًا للتسويق، أو لديها شهادة عدم ممانعة؛ على قائمة الأدوية الأساسية الوطنية؛ وعلى قائمة منظمة الصحة العالمية (WHO) للمضادات الحيوية غير الموصى بها. النتائج تم تسويق مضادات حيوية منها 112 تركيبة ذات جرعة ثابتة، و78 مضادًا حيويًا ذات تركيبة منفردة في الهند، وهو ما يمثل 7.6 و4.5 مليار وحدة قياسية من إجمالي المبيعات على الترتيب. تضم المضادات الحيوية Access وWatch وReserve 5.8 و5.6 و0.1 مليار وحدة قياسية من إجمالي مبيعات السوق على الترتيب. جميع المضادات الحيوية الإضافية الخاضعة للرقابة كانت Watch وReserve (%23.6؛ 2.9 مليار وحدة قياسية من إجمالي المبيعات). تركيبات الجرعة الثابتة الواردة في القائمة غير الموصى بها لدى منظمة الصحة العالمية (WHO) تم تسويقها في 229 مستحضرًا، مع 114 مستحضرًا (49.8%) ليس لها سجل بالموافقة الرسمية أو شهادة عدم ممانعة. على الرغم من عدم وجود تركيبات جرعة ثابتة غير موصى بها في القائمة الوطنية للأدوية الأساسية، فإن 13 من الـ 20 تركيبة جرعة ثابتة من المضادات الحيوية الأكثر مبيعًا لم تكن موصى بها من جانب منظمة الصحة العالمية (WHO). الاستنتاج إن بيع أدوية مجموعة Watch، والمضادات الحيوية المحظورة أو التي لم تحصل على الموافقة، يحتاج إلى تحقيق وإنفاذ فعال في الهند. يجب مراجعة قاعدة الأدلة التي تقوم عليها الموافقات الرسمية، وشهادات عدم الممانعة لتركيبات الجرعة الثابتة غير الموصى بها. 根据世卫组织 (WHO) 推荐的药物目录和控制抗生素销售的国家监管措施,分析印度固定剂量组合抗生素和单一抗生素的销量。. 我们从一家市场调研公司的销售数据库中提取了印度全身性抗生素的销量数据。我们比较了 2020 年按 WHO AWaRe 【可广泛使用 (Access)、谨慎使用 (Watch) 和保留使用 (Reserve)】分级目录和其他国家监管规定分类的抗生素的销售量市场份额。我们还分析了固定剂量组合抗生素(正式批准上市或者具有无异议证明;全国基本药物目录;世卫组织不推荐的抗生素目录)的销量。. 印度有 78 种单一抗生素和 112 种固定剂量组合抗生素上市, 总销量分别为 76 和 45 亿标准单位。可广泛使用 (Access)、谨慎使用 (Watch) 和保留使用 (Reserve) 抗生素的市场总销量分别为 58、56 和 1 亿标准单位。所有额外受监管抗生素均为谨慎使用 (Watch) 和保留使用 (Reserve) 抗生素(占 23.6%,总销售额为 29 亿标准单位)。有 229 种非世卫组织推荐药物目录中的固定剂量组合抗生素上市,其中 114 种(49.8%)没有正式批准或无异议证明。虽然没有国家基本药物清单中不推荐的固定剂量组合抗生素,但在 20 种最畅销的固定剂量组合抗生素中,有 13 种是世卫组织不推荐使用的。. 在印度还需对谨慎使用 (Watch) 类别的药物以及禁用或未批准的抗生素的销量进行积极调查并采取措施。应对不推荐使用的固定剂量组合抗生素取得的正式批准和无异议证明进行审查。. Проанализировать продажи комбинированных препаратов с фиксированными дозами и отдельных антибиотиков в Индии в соответствии с рекомендациями Всемирной организации здравоохранения (ВОЗ) и мерами национального регулирования по контролю за продажами антибиотиков. Авторы извлекли данные об объемах продаж системных антибиотиков в Индии из базы данных по продажам исследовательской компании. Они сравнили рыночную долю продаж антибиотиков в 2020 г. по категориям AWaRe (Access (Доступ), Watch (Наблюдение), Reserve (Резерв)) ВОЗ, а также антибиотиков, на которые распространяются дополнительные национальные регулирующие меры контроля. Авторы также проанализировали продажи комбинированных препаратов с фиксированными дозами, которые были официально одобрены для продажи или имели сертификат об отсутствии возражений, находились в национальном перечне основных лекарственных средств и в списке ВОЗ не рекомендованных для использования антибиотиков. В Индии на рынке представлены 78 отдельных и 112 комбинированных препаратов с фиксированными дозами антибиотиков, что составило 7,6 и 4,5 млрд условных единиц от общего объема продаж соответственно. Антибиотики групп Access, Watch и Reserve составили 5,8; 5,6 и 0,1 млрд условных единиц от общего объема продаж на рынке соответственно. Все дополнительно контролируемые антибиотики относились к антибиотикам групп Watch и Reserve (23,6%; 2,9 млрд условных единиц от общего объема продаж). Комбинированные препараты с фиксированными дозами, включенные в список ВОЗ не рекомендованных для использования антибиотиков, продавались в виде 229 лекарственных форм, при этом 114 форм (49,8%) не имели официального одобрения или сертификата об отсутствии возражений. Хотя в национальном перечне основных лекарственных средств не было нерекомендованных комбинированных препаратов с фиксированными дозами, 13 из 20 наиболее продаваемых комбинированных антибиотиков с фиксированными дозами не были рекомендованы ВОЗ. Продажа антибиотиков группы Watch, а также продажа запрещенных или не имеющих одобрения антибиотиков требует активного расследования и правоприменения в Индии. Необходимо проверить доказательную базу, лежащую в основе официальных одобрений и сертификатов об отсутствии возражений для нерекомендованных комбинированных препаратов с фиксированными дозами

Multimorbidity, healthcare use and catastrophic health expenditure by households in India: a cross-section analysis of self-reported morbidity from national sample survey data 2017–18

Background: The purpose of this research is to generate new evidence on the economic consequences of multimorbidity on households in terms of out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures and their implications for catastrophic OOP expenditure. Methods: We analyzed Social Consumption Health data from National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) 75th round conducted in the year 2017–2018 in India. The sample included 1,13,823 households (64,552 rural and 49,271 urban) through a multistage stratified random sampling process. Prevalence of multimorbidity and related OOP expenditure were estimated. Using Coarsened Exact Matching (CEM) we estimated the mean OOP expenditure for individuals reporting multimorbidity and single morbidity for each episode of outpatient visits and hospital admission. We also estimated implications in terms of catastrophic OOP expenditure for households. Results: Results suggest that outpatient OOP expenditure is invariably lower in the presence of multimorbidity as compared with single conditions of the selected Non-Communicable Diseases(NCDs) (overall, INR 720 [USD 11.3] for multimorbidity vs. INR 880 [USD 14.8] for single). In the case of hospitalization, the OOP expenditures were mostly higher for the same NCD conditions in the presence of multimorbidity as compared with single conditions, except for cancers and cardiovascular diseases. For cancers and cardiovascular, OOP expenditures in the presence of multimorbidity were lower by 39% and 14% respectively). Furthermore, around 46.7% (46.674—46.676) households reported incurring catastrophic spending (10% threshold) because of any NCD in the standalone disease scenario which rose to 63.3% (63.359–63.361) under the multimorbidity scenario. The catastrophic implications of cancer among individual diseases was the highest. Conclusions: Multimorbidity leads to high and catastrophic OOP payments by households and treatment of high expenditure diseases like cancers and cardiovascular are under-financed by households in the presence of competing multimorbidity conditions. Multimorbidity should be considered as an integrated treatment strategy under the existing financial risk protection measures (Ayushman Bharat) to reduce the burden of household OOP expenditure at the country level.Publication Funding was obtained from Research England Policy Impact Fund Grant given by Queen Mary University of London

Antibiotic prescriptions for oral diseases in India: evidence from national prescription data

IntroductionThe key objective of this research was to describe the prescription rate of various antibiotics for dental problems in India and to study the relevance of the prescriptions by analysing antibiotic types associated with different dental diagnoses, using a large-scale nationally representative dataset.MethodsWe used a 12-month period (May 2015 to April 2016) medical audit dataset from IQVIA (formerly IMS Health). We coded the dental diagnosis provided in the medical audit data to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-11) and the prescribed antibiotics for the diagnosis to the Anatomic Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) -2020 classification of the World Health Organization. The primary outcome measure was the medicine prescription rate per 1,000 persons per year (PRPY1000).ResultsOur main findings were-403 prescriptions per 1,000 persons per year in the year 2015 -2016 for all dental ailments. Across all ATC level 1 classification, 'Diseases of hard tissues' made up the majority of the prescriptions. 'Beta-lactam', 'Penicillin,' and 'Cephalosporins' were the most commonly prescribed antibiotics for dental diagnoses followed by 'Macrolides' and 'Quinolones'. 'Dental caries', 'Discoloration of tooth', and 'Toothache' were the most common reasons for 'Beta-Lactams' and 'Penicillin' prescriptions.ConclusionTo conclude our study reports first ever country (India) level estimates of antibiotic prescription by antibiotic classes, age groups, and ICD-11 classification for dental ailments

Dynamics of Anti-S IgG Antibodies Titers after the Second Dose of COVID-19 Vaccines in the Manual and Craft Worker Population of Qatar

There is limited seroepidemiological evidence on the magnitude and long-term durability of antibody titers of mRNA and non-mRNA vaccines in the Qatari population. This study was conducted to generate evidence on long-term anti-S IgG antibody titers and their dynamics in individuals who have completed a primary COVID-19 vaccination schedule. A total of 300 male participants who received any of the following vaccines BNT162b2/Comirnaty, mRNA-1273, ChAdOx1-S/Covishield, COVID-19 Vaccine Janssen/Johnson, or BBIBP-CorV or Covaxin were enrolled in our study. All sera samples were tested by chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay (CMIA) for the quantitative determination of IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the S1 subunit of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (SARS-CoV-2 N-protein IgG) were also determined. Kaplan–Meier survival curves were used to compare the time from the last dose of the primary vaccination schedule to the time by which anti-S IgG antibody titers fell into the lowest quartile (range of values collected) for the mRNA and non-mRNA vaccines. Participants vaccinated with mRNA vaccines had higher median anti-S IgG antibody titers. Participants vaccinated with the mRNA-1273 vaccine had the highest median anti-S-antibody level of 13,720.9 AU/mL (IQR 6426.5 to 30,185.6 AU/mL) followed by BNT162b2 (median, 7570.9 AU/mL; IQR, 3757.9 to 16,577.4 AU/mL); while the median anti-S antibody titer for non-mRNA vaccinated participants was 3759.7 AU/mL (IQR, 2059.7–5693.5 AU/mL). The median time to reach the lowest quartile was 3.53 months (IQR, 2.2–4.5 months) and 7.63 months (IQR, 6.3–8.4 months) for the non-mRNA vaccine recipients and Pfizer vaccine recipients, respectively. However, more than 50% of the Moderna vaccine recipients did not reach the lowest quartile by the end of the follow-up period. This evidence on anti-S IgG antibody titers should be considered for informing decisions on the durability of the neutralizing activity and thus protection against infection after the full course of primary vaccination in individuals receiving different type (mRNA verus non-mRNA) vaccines and those with natural infection.The World Health Organization (WHO) - grant number [2021/1183356-0]

Quality of life assessment & out-of-pocket expenditure in multiple myeloma: An observational study

Background & objectives: Prognosis of patients with multiple myeloma (MM) has improved significantly in the past two decades. However, the symptoms burden is high at onset and treatment is generally prolonged with significant financial burden. This study was undertaken to assess the quality of life (QoL) and to analyse out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) incurred on MM patients being treated at a tertiary care cancer centre in north India. Methods: This observational, cross-sectional study included 116 patients (aged >18 yr) of MM (both newly diagnosed and those with recurrent disease). For QoL assessment, European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC)-validated questionnaire (EORTC QLQ C 30 version 3.0) and disease-specific QLQ MY20 were used. For assessing OOPE incurred on treatment, the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) questionnaire was used. Results: Bone pains (68.1%), fatigue (59.7%) and dyspnoea (54.6%) were common symptoms. The mean global health status/QoL score was 59.62±19.21. International Staging System (ISS) score correlated with global health status score, and gastritis was the main adverse effect. QoL score showed negative correlation to side effects of treatment (−0.53) of MY20 domain. On multivariate analysis, ISS stage (P<0.001) and adverse effects of treatment (P=0.02) were predictive factors. The median OOPE was ₹ 7900 (IQR, ₹ 4950-13,550) towards medical and ₹ 1150 (IQR, ₹ 500-3100) for non-medical expenses for the past one month. Interpretation & conclusions: Regular assessment of QoL in the clinical management of multiple myeloma patients has the potential of improving treatment outcomes. Measures to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure may improve treatment compliance