Objective To compare the cost-effectiveness of Baofukang and Xinfuning in the treatment of HPV infection, and to provide references for reasonable clinical prescription, pricing drugs and the cognition product value. Methods Decision tree model was developed to estimate the cost-effectiveness of Baofukang and Xinfuning from the perspective of the cost payer. In the model, the effectiveness was mainly measured by the clearance rate of HPV based on meta-analysis. The cost data was mainly based on the published price data from the websites of the Development and Reform Commission, Bidding Center, the Health Department and so on. The single factor sensitivity analysis was performed based on the change of effectiveness and price. Results The effective rate of Baofukang treatment for 48 days was 61.89%, and the effective rate for 42 days was 63.05%, while Xinfuning’s effective rate for 30 days was 46.58%. The total cost were 668.61 yuan, 630.09 yuan and 850.83 yuan, respectively. Baofukang users had lower costs yet higher clearance rates of HPV compared to Xinfuning at different treatment time. In sensitivity analysis, the evaluation results would not been affected. Conclusion The current study suggests that Baofukang is more cost-effective than Xinfuning in the treatment of HPV infection.
Objective To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of three LTBI screening strategies: the tuberculin skin test (TST), the T-SPOT.TB and the combination of TST and T-SPOT (TST+T.SPOT), to provide economic evidence for T.SPOT application in China. Methods A decision analysis model evaluated three strategies among a cohort of 1000 tuberculosis (TB) close contacts, using incremental cost-effectiveness of prevention a active TB patient (1 year post contact). Meta analyses were conducted to calculate the key parameters of T.SPOT and TST. The official data or literature was searched and the unaccessible data was to specify other parameters, such as cost, LTBI prevalence, etc. The one-way sensitivity analysis was performed, varying key parameters over a wide range of reasonable values to evaluate the impact of data uncertainties and to determine the robustness of our overall conclusion. Results a) As for the total cost, the TST+T.SPOT strategy (?212 213.81 per 1 000 contacts) cost the least, while the single T.SPOT strategy cost the most; b) Subsequently, the TST+T.SPOT strategy required less contacts to be treated to prevent an active case of TB (8.31) than the single TST strategy (25.67); c) the TST+T.SPOT strategy shared the most cost-effectiveness (?3 063.50 per active TB case prevented) than the single TST or T.SPOT strategy; and d) The results of one-way sensitivity analyses showed that cost-effectiveness values were sensitive to changes in LTBI prevalence (gt;60%), Sen and Spn of TST test (gt;70%), with the single TST being superior to the single T.SPOT. Conclusion The Single T.SPOT strategy enjoys the most cases prevented from active TB, while the TST+S.SPOT strategy is the most cost-effective. The conclusion is sensitive to a few parameters, such as LTBI prevalence, but the TST+T.SPOT strategy is always the best.
Objective To investigate cost-effectiveness of no indwelling urinary catheter in pulmonary lobectomy patients and to confirm the advances of no indwelling urinary catheter. Methods We recruited 148 lung cancer patients who were scheduled for pulmonary lobectomy under general anesthesia in West China Hospital from July through December 2015. These patients were divided into two groups including an indwelling urinary catheter group (74 patients, 45 males and 29 females, at age of 52.55±19.87 years) and a no indwelling urinary catheter group (74 patients, 42 males and 32 females, at age of 54.03±16.66 years). Indexes of cost-effectiveness of the two groups were compared. Results There was no statistical difference between the two groups in duration of indwelling catheter (1.56±0.0.65 d versus 1.68±0.91 d, P=0.077). Material expense(4 811.48 yuan versus 296.74 yuan, P=0.045), cost of nursing care (7 413.32 yuan versus 457.32 yuan, P=0.013), and total expense (12 224.8 yuan versus 754.06 yuan, P=0.000) in the indwelling catheter group were higher than those in the no indwelling catheter group. Material expense per patient (65.02±5.62 yuan/patient-time versus 4.01±0.00 yuan/patient-time, P=0.000), cost of nursing care per patient (100.18±7.19 yuan/patient-time versus 6.18±1.22 yuan/patient-time, P=0.000), and total cost per patient (165.20±12.81 yuan/patienttime versus 10.19±1.22 yuan/patient-time, P=0.000) in the indwelling catheter group were higher than those in the no indwelling catheter group. Conclusion Both costs and labor of nurse can be cut down for appropriate lung cancer patients undergoing lobectomy without routine indwelling urinary catheter.
ObjectivesThis study aimed to study the economic effect of five kinds of detection systems for nucleic acid, which were based on five kinds of working electrodes: gold electrode, glassy carbon electrode, carbon paste electrode, screen printing electrode, and indium-tin-oxide (ITO) glass electrode.MethodsThe cost of completing a single test was taken as the cost of economic analysis. The Youden index was used to represent the effect of cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA). Meanwhile, the cost-utility analysis (CUA) and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) were used for the economic analysis of the corresponding system.ResultsThe cost of five detection systems based on gold electrode, glass carbon electrode, carbon paste electrode, screen printing electrode, and ITO glass electrode was 3.70 yuan/unit, 4.20 yuan/unit, 5.25 yuan/unit, 33.98 yuan/unit and 5.01 yuan/unit, respectively. The Youden indexes of all five systems were 1. The cost effectiveness (C/E) were 3.70, 4.20, 5.25, 33.98, and 5.01, respectively. The cost utility (C/U) were 6.61, 6.89, 9.91, 62.93, and 9.45, respectively. The C'/E and C'/U of the gold electrode detection system were the minimum (2.96 and 5.29). Compared with the system applying the gold electrode, the system using the glassy carbon electrode had ΔC >0 and ∆E0 >0; When carbon paste electrode, screen printing electrode, and ITO glass electrode system were used, ∆C was >0 and ∆E0 was <0.ConclusionsFrom the perspective of CEA and CUA, the system using the gold electrode has the best economic effect. The sensitivity analysis proved the reliability of CEA and CUA results. According to the ICER, gold electrode or glassy carbon electrode can be used in clinical practice with the choice depending on the user.
ObjectivesTo evaluate the economic efficacy of nab-paclitaxel (NAB-P) combined with gemcitabine (GEM) versus GEM alone in the treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer in China.MethodsA Markov model simulating the costs and health outcomes was developed to estimate quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). The impact of parameter uncertainty on the model was assessed by deterministic one-way sensitivity analysis.ResultsNAB-P combined with GEM was shown superior efficacy compared to gemcitabine monotherapy, however with higher costs. The ICER between the two groups was 964 780.79￥/QALY.ConclusionsCompared with gemcitabine monotherapy, NAB-P combined with GEM is not cost-effective. The conclusion is confirmed by deterministic one-way sensitivity analysis.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the status of economic evaluation of liver cancer screening in China, so as to provide reference for further studies.MethodsPubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, WanFang Data, CBM and VIP databases were searched to collect economic evaluation studies of liver cancer screening in China from inception to December, 2017. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and conducted descriptive analysis of basic characteristics, methods of economic evaluation and main results as well as quality and uniformity of reporting.ResultsA total of 5 studies were included. Among them, the starting age of screening were found to be 35 to 45 years old; α-fetoprotein (AFP) testing and ultrasound examination combined procedure and screening interval of every 6 months were mostly evaluated. The quality of the 5 studies was satisfactory, and the uniformity of reporting was relatively acceptable, with a median score of 78% (range: 60% ~ 78%). Two population-based studies reported cost per liver cancer detected (44 thousand and 575 thousand yuan). Three studies reported cost-effectiveness ratio(CER) based on life year saved (LYS) and quality adjusted life year (QALY). Among these results, only 1 study from mainland China reported CER based on LYS (1 775 yuan), and the calculated ratio of CER to local GDP per capita was estimated as 0.1, while 2 studies from Taiwan province reported 4 CERs, and the ratios of CER to local GDP per capita ranged from 1.0 to 2.2.ConclusionsInformation from liver cancer endemic areas such as Taiwan province indicates promising cost-effectiveness to conduct liver cancer screening in local general population, while data from mainland suggests that conducting liver cancer screening combining AFP and ultrasound in high-risk population will be cost-effective, however only supported by 1 regional study. This needs to be verified by further economic evaluations based on randomized controlled trials or cohort studies as well as health economic evaluations.
Objective To investigate the clinical effectiveness of the total Flavones of Hippophae Rhamnoides L. (TFH) and compare its cost-effectiveness ratio with enalapril in patients with essential hypertension. Methods Among 3 971 staff members in two universities, 155 eligible patients with blood pressure (BP) ≥160/100 mmHg were screened and included in this study. By using a random number table, the patients were randomized to the two groups: TFH was given to the treatment group while enalapril in the control group. At the end of the six week, BP, total cost and cost-effectiveness ratio were measured in both TFH and enalapril groups. Results After six weeks, blood pressures in the TFH and enalapril groups decreased by 12.7±11.6/8.1±5.1 mmHg and 15.2±9.7/10.1±7.3 mmHg respectively, while the improvement rates of BP were 73.24% (52/71) and 74.65% (53/71) respectively. There were no differences between TFH and enalapril groups in lowering BP amplitude and total effectiveness rate. The incidence of side effect in TFH group was 11.27% (8/71), which was significantly lower than that of enalapril 29.6% (21/71). The total cost of TFH group was 9 294.6 RMB with the cost effectiveness ratio of 732/1 147 RMB per mmHg and 179 RMB per case. In the enalapril group, the total cost added up to 13 236 RMB with cost effectiveness ratio of 870/1 310 per mmHg and 250 RMB per case. Sensitivity analysis indicated that TFH was better than enalapril with respect to clinical economic value even when enalapril price dropped to 1.8 RMB for tablet (5 mg). Conclusion Compared with enalapril, TFH is an effective and economic drug in treating patients with hypertension.
Objective To systematically review the cost-effectiveness of gefitinib for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), in order to provide the economics values of gefitinib for clinical application. Method We electronically searched databases including PubMed, Ovid, Embase, Cochrane Library, Medline, China National Knowledge Internet, VIP, and Wanfang database for articles about the cost-effectiveness of gefitinib for advanced NSCLC patients from January 1946 to October 2017, and then performed a systematic literature review of economic evaluations of geftinib. Results A total of 20 independent studies were included in the present systematic review, in which 8 were the first-line treatment, 9 were the second-line treatment, 1 was the third-line treatment, and 2 were maintenance treatment. The most common comparison was gefitinib vs. chemotherapy (n=7), and other comparisons were gefitinib vs. erlotinib (n=4), gefitinib vs. docetaxel (n=3), gefitinib vs. placebo (n=2), gefitinib vs. icotinib (n=2), gefitinib vs. afatinib (n=1), and gefitinib vs. other treatments (n=1). For the advanced NSCLC patients, the first- or second-line treatment with gefitinib compared to chemotherapy was considered to be more cost-effective, especially in patients with mutated epidermal growth factor receptor gene. As the second-line treatment, gefitinib was considered to be more economical than erlotinib and docetaxel. Conclusion Gefitinib is considered to be a cost-effective strategy for the advanced NSCLC patients as the first- or second-line therapy.
Objective To evaluate the cost effectiveness of four different mechanisms clinical commonly used antidepressants, namely, amitriptyline, escitalopram, mirtazapine and venlafaxine in the treatment of moderate-severe depressive disorder in China and to provide clinicians with some advice. Methods We carried out the cost-effectiveness analysis of four antidepressants by establishing a decision tree model. The parameters uncertainty in the model was estimated through one-way sensitivity analysis. Results In terms of average cost-effectiveness ratio (CER), amitriptyline’s was 45.24 RMB, which was the lowest. And the CERs of mirtazapine, escitalopram and venlafaxine were 273.71 RMB, 332.00 RMB and 716.58 RMB, respectively. While in terms of incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), venlafaxine was excluded as the dominated strategy. When the threshold value of willingness to pay (WTP) was less than 3 420.92 RMB, amitriptyline was the most cost-effective; when the threshold value ranges between 3 420.92 RMB and 4 200 RMB, mirtazapine was the most cost-effective; and when the threshold value was over 4 200 RMB, escitalopram was the most cost-effective. In the one-way sensitivity analysis, when we changed the four kinds of drugs costs within a certain range, the results was not changed with the change of venlafaxine’s cost but changed with the other three drugs costs. Conclusion Clinicians may choose the most cost-effective therapy according to patients’ different WTP values. We suggests that health care institutions should encourage the use of escitalopram clinically and provide subsidies for patients so as to increase the overall society benefit.
The application of economic tools to evaluate the cost and health benefits and screen out more cost-effective drugs and technologies is an important measure to improve efficiency of medical resource allocation in China. Given the inherent differences between strict clinical trials and clinical routine practice, using trial-based economic evaluations to guide relevant medical decisions may lead to a certain risk of value deviation. Recent development of real-world data provides opportunities to assess the cost-effectiveness of drugs under the practical utilization, and has gradually become a new research hotspot. However, the complexity of the actual clinical environment also puts higher demands on researchers and decision makers to construct, understand and apply real-world evidence. In order to further prompt the normalization of economic evaluation based on real-world data and promote the scientific application of real-world evidence in medical and health decision-making, this project aims at the crucial issues including scope, research design and quality evaluation, to clarify the key considerations on the using of real-world evidence in medical decision-making. Combined with the international guidelines, the latest advancement of relevant research areas and the advice and opinions from multidisciplinary experts, we aim to provide technical references and guidance for researchers and decision makers, and to strengthen the evidence base of management policies.