Pharmacoeconomic evaluation of pharmacotherapy of patients with diabetic foot syndrome secondary to type 2 diabetes mellitus

The increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus complicated by diabetic foot syndrome and the prescription of high-cost medicines, which are not included in treatment protocols, significantly raise healthcare expenditures and worsen patient outcomes, making the optimisation of pharmacotherapy both a clinical and economic priority. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the rationality of pharmacotherapy for patients with diabetic foot syndrome using an integrated frequency/ABC/VEN analysis. The study applied frequency analysis to assess prescription patterns ATC-classification, ABC-analysis to classify medicines by expenditure levels, and VEN-analysis to determine their therapeutic importance based on national and international treatment guidelines recommendations for type 2 diabetes mellitus. The results demonstrated that etiological and pathogenetic therapies approaches predominated in clinical practice. Antidiabetic agents accounted for the largest share of prescriptions (23%), while antibiotics were essential for managing infectious complications. The integrated frequency/ABC/VEN-analyses revealed that “essential” medicines (44.19%) predominated over “vital” (23.26%) and “non-essential” categories (32.56%), indicating the insufficiently rational prescribing practices in accordance with treatment recommendations. However, a high share of healthcare expenditures was concentrated in a group of high-cost medicines (34.89%), suggesting suboptimal allocation of healthcare resources. The results also highlighted the importance of evidence-based antibiotic selection due to the growing risk of antimicrobial resistance. The study provided a foundation for improving the economic efficiency of pharmacotherapy in patients with diabetic foot syndrome by supporting rational prescribing, optimisation of healthcare expenditures, and the promotion of cost-effective Ukrainian medicines alternatives