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.
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.
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.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of thymalfasin (Tα1) as an adjuvant therapy for hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after surgery.MethodsPatients with HBV-related HCC who underwent hepatectomy from February 2007 to December 2015 in West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu Military General Hospital, or the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University were retrospectively collected and divided into the Tα1 group and the observation group. Log-rank test and Kaplan-Meier curve were used to assess the overall survival, recurrence-free survival, and safety of patients. A Markov model was used to calculate the quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of the Tα1 group compared with the observation group. Cost data was from the hospital information system of the three hospitals. Utility scores mainly came from published data. Sensitivity analyses were applied to explore the impact of essential variables.ResultsA total of 208 patients with HCC after liver resection were enrolled, among them 48 received Tα1 treatment (the Tα1 group) and 160 were only followed up (the observation group). There was no significant difference between the two groups in the baseline characteristics. The median overall survival of the Tα1 group and the observation group was 102.0 months [95% confidence interval (CI) (74.8, 129.2) months] and 81.6 months [95%CI (65.7, 97.6) months], respectively, and the difference was statisitically significant (P=0.047); the median recurrence-free survival was 66.7 months [95%CI (17.3, 116.1) months] and 37.4 months [95%CI (28.7, 46.2) months], respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.044). There were no grade Ⅲ-Ⅳ adverse events and no treatment-related death occurred. The ICER of Tα1 group was ￥108 050.02/QALY, which was less than the willingness to pay (￥177 785.25/QALY).ConclusionsTα1, as an adjuvant therapy for HBV-related HCC patients, can improve the prognosis of the patients, and the cost is within the acceptable level in our country, so this strategy is likely to be a cost-effective option compared with the observation group.
Objective To evaluate the ambulatory surgery mode by using health economical mothods and provide reference for optimization and decision of surgical operation mode. Methods The patients who underwent unilateral flexible ureteroscopic holmium laser lithotriphy for ureteral calculi in Xiangya Hospital, Central South University between January 1st to December 31th, 2015 were selected in this study, including 59 with ambulatory surgery mode (the ambulatory group) and 65 with special in-hospital surgery mode (the special group). The differences in average bed occupancy time, cost, therapeutic effect, and satisfaction between the two operation modes were compared. Results The average bed occupancy time in the ambulatory group and the special group was (1.03±0.18) and (6.35±0.74) days, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The patients in both groups were followed up for one month after the operation, and the incidence of complications was 6.8% (4/59) in the ambulatory group and 6.2% (4/65) in the special group, without significant difference (P>0.05). The satisfaction score in the ambulatory group and the special group was 96.48±0.23vs. 96.53±0.18 without significant difference (P>0.05). The differences in direct medical cost [(17 738.28±1 027.85)vs. (21 307.67±554.41) yuan], direct non-medical cost [(103.39±18.25) vs. (630.76±78.90) yuan], indirect cost[ (266.93±47.12) vs. (1 640.44±190.55) yuan], and total cost [(18 128.10±1 037.76) vs. (23 558.29±619.20) yuan] between the ambulatory group and the special group were all statistically significant (P<0.05). The treatment effect index in the ambulatory group and the special group was 0.96 and 1.05, respectively; the cost-effect ratio was 18 883.44 and 22 436.47, respectively. Sensitivity analysis showed that the adjusted cost-effect ratio in the ambulatory group (16 629.64) was still lower than that in the special group (20 534.91). Conclusions The cost-effect ratio of ambulatory surgery mode is superior than that of special in-hospital surgery mode, and there is no obvious difference in patients satisfaction between the two modes. Ambulatory surgery mode can be recommended to patients who meet the indications of day surgery.
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.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the comparative cost-effectiveness of thrombolysis treatment of ischemic stroke based on outcomes of CT perfusion (CTP). MethodsWe applied the methods of systematic review to evaluate the studies abroad about the cost effectiveness of CTP diagnosis outcomes used for selecting stroke patients for thrombolysis treatment. We also evaluated the domestic studies about the cost-effectiveness of CTP in China by establishing a decision tree model. ResultsA total of 2 economics studies were included. The results showed that, the cost-effectiveness ratios of CT, CTP and MRI for selecting stroke patients for thrombolysis treatment were 2 983.7 ￡/QALY, 2 951.4 ￡/QALY and 2 982.9 ￡/ QALY, respectively, in the UK; 100 483.5＄/QALY and 99 406.1＄/QALY just for CT and CTP, respectively, in the US; and the evaluation outcomes by establishing the decision tree model showed that, 113 492.4 ￥/QALY, 113 615￥/QALY and 120 831.9 ￥/QALY, respectively, in China. ConclusionAll international and domestic studies' results show that CTP is more cost-effective than CT/MRI in selecting stroke patients for thrombolysis treatment.
ObjectivesTo compare the common application methods of meta-analysis results used in economic evaluations so as to provide reference and suggestions for similar economic evaluations in future.MethodsFour methods were used to calculate the effectiveness deriving from meta-analysis of omeprazole and esomeprazole in the treatment of peptic ulcer, then substituted into the decision tree model to perform cost-effectiveness analysis.ResultsMethod 1 used the risk difference as the incremental effectiveness. The ICER was ￥2 420, and the equal probability point of the cost-effectiveness acceptability curve (CEAC) in the probability sensitivity analysis was approximately ￥2 600. Method 2 used the effective rate of the study group in high-quality literatures as the benchmark, calculated the effective rate of the control group according to the RR. The ICER was ￥2 016, and the equal probability point of the CEAC was approximately￥2 000. Method 3 was based on the effective rate of the control group in high-quality literatures to calculate the effective rate of the study group according to RR. The ICER was ￥2 420 and the equal probability point of the CEAC was approximately￥2 200; Method 4 used literature weights to calculate the effectiveness, the ICER is ￥2 420, and the equal probability point of the CEAC was about ￥2 400.ConclusionsThe results of the four methods share little difference, and the sensitivity analysis results show that the base case analysis results are more robust. However, in the application process, method 1 lacks specific effectiveness of the two groups and underestimate the variation range of the effectiveness difference when one-way sensitivity analysis was performed. Relevant assumptions are further required to limit the possibility of effectiveness calculated greater than 1 in sensitivity analysis among method 2 and 3. Comprehensively, method 4 can be recommended in the economic evaluations for fewer defects of calculating effectiveness.
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.
ObjectiveTo compare the cost-effectiveness between endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography (ERCP) treatment and laparotomy treatment for simple common bile duct stone or common bile duct stone combined with gallbladder benign lesions. MethodsA total of 596 patients with common bile stone received ERCP (ERCP group) and 173 received open choledocholithotomy (surgical group) in our hospital between January 2009 and December 2012. Their clinical data were retrospectively analyzed. The curing rate, postoperative complications, hospital stay, preoperational preparation and total cost were compared between the two groups of patients. Meanwhile, for common bile stone combined with gallbladder benign lesion, 29 patients received ERCP combined with laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) (ERCP+LC group), 38 received pure laparoscopy treatment (laparoscopy group) and 129 received open choledocholithotomy combined with cholecystectomy (surgery group). ResultsFor simple common bile stone patients, no significant difference was found in cure rate and post-operative complication between endoscopic and surgical treatment groups (P>0.05). However, total hospitalization expenses[(13.1±6.3) thousand yuan, (20.6±7.5) thousand yuan)], hospital stay[(8.91±4.95), (12.14±5.15) days] and preoperative preparation time[(3.77±3.09), (5.13±3.99) days] were significantly different between the two groups (P<0.05). For patients with common bile stone combined with gallbladder benign lesion, no significant discrepancy was detected among the three groups in curing rate and post-operative complications (P>0.05). Significant differences were detected between ERCP+LC group and surgical group in terms of total hospitalization expense[(18.9±4.6) thousand yuan, (23.2±8.9) thousand yuan] hospital stay[(9.00±3.74), (12.47±4.50) days] and preoperative preparation time[(3.24±1.83), (5.15±2.98) days]. No significant difference was found in total hospitalization expense and hospital stay, while significant difference was detected in preoperative preparation time between ERCP+LC group and simple LC group. ConclusionFor patients with simple common bile stone, ERCP is equivalent to surgery in the curing rate, and has more advantages such as less cost, shorter length of hospital stay, and lower preoperative preparation time. For the treatment of common bile duct stone with gallbladder benign disease, ERCP combined with LC also has more advantages than traditional surgery.