Estimating the burden and cost of infectious intestinal disease in the Maltese community

The aim of this study was to estimate the burden of infectious intestinal disease (IID) and cost of illness at the community level from a societal aspect. A retrospective, age-stratified cross-sectional telephone study was carried out in Malta in 2004-2005. The number of cases, resources used and cost of resources were computed. The resources involved direct costs (health-care services, stool culture tests, medicines and personal costs) and indirect costs (costs from lost employment by cases and caregivers). This study estimated 0.421 (95% CI 0.092-0.771) separate episodes of IID per person per year in Malta which corresponds to 164 471 (95% CI 35 941-301 205) episodes of IID per year or 450 (95% CI 98-825) episodes of IID each day. The largest proportion of cost is due to provision of health-care services with euro10 454 901 [Maltese liri (Lm) 4 558 970] per year; followed by euro963 295 (Lm 2 209 393) in lost productivity; euro1 286 286 (Lm 561 078) in medicines; euro152 335 (Lm 66 452) in stool culture testing and euro71 487 (Lm 31 183) in personal costs, giving a total cost of illness of over euro16 million (7 million Lm) per year. The burden and cost of IID are high enough to justify efforts to control the illness. Such estimates are important to assess the cost-effectiveness of proposed specific interventions.     

Cost-effectiveness of adult pertussis vaccination in Germany

BACKGROUND: The incidence of pertussis in adults is high despite good childhood vaccination coverage. An adult formulation of an acellular pertussis vaccine is licensed and available for use in Germany. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the potential health benefits, risks, costs and cost-effectiveness of routine pertussis vaccination programs for German adults. METHODS: A Markov model was used to simulate health states and immunity levels associated with pertussis disease and vaccination. The following strategies were evaluated: (1) no adult pertussis vaccination, (2) one-time adult vaccination at 20-64 years, and (3) adult vaccination with decennial boosters. Our main outcome measures were costs (2006 Euros), cases prevented, incremental cost per case prevented and incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) saved. We performed sensitivity analyses for key assumptions in the model including disease incidence, vaccine cost, vaccine efficacy, disease costs and frequency of adverse events. Future costs and benefits were discounted at 3%. RESULTS: At a disease incidence of 165 per 100,000, the one-time adult vaccination strategy would prevent 498,000 cases, and the decennial adult vaccination strategy would prevent 1 million cases. Approximately 31 million adults ( approximately 62% of the cohort) would be vaccinated with a one-time adult vaccination strategy for a total program cost of 366 million Euros, while a decennial vaccination strategy would cost 687 million Euros. The one-time adult vaccination strategy resulted in CE ratios of 5800 Euros per QALY saved, or 160 Euros per pertussis case prevented. The decennial booster strategy cost 7200 Euros per QALY saved, or 200 Euros per case prevented. The results were most sensitive to assumptions about disease incidence and vaccine cost. CONCLUSIONS: Routine vaccination of German adults aged 20-64 years with Tdap is cost-effective.     

Cost-effectiveness of pertussis booster vaccination for preschool children in Japan

Introduction: Japan currently recommends four doses of the diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccine in its routine vaccination program, but the introduction of a fifth dose is currently under consideration. An objective of the booster vaccination is to prevent severe cases of pertussis in infants through herd immunity. Thus, the aim of this analysis was to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of a fifth-dose of the DTaP vaccine for 6-year-old children, taking herd immunity for unvaccinated infants into account.MethodAn economic model analysis was conducted comparing the cost and effectiveness of the two strategies based on quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). We evaluated the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of the booster strategy to the no booster strategy. This model contained two sub-models: one for children aged 6 years or older and one for infants under 3 months old. Herd immunity for infants is modeled as when siblings in the same family are infected.ResultsThe ICER was JPY 71,605,491 (USD 656,931) per QALY gained from the societal perspective, and 7.10% of incremental QALYs (0.0000934) were from a reduction in infant infection. In the sensitivity analysis, no variables moved the ICER under the threshold (JPY 5,000,000 per QALY gained), and the duration of pertussis disease and the incidence rate of pertussis had a significant impact on the ICER. When the disease burden of pertussis decreased, the booster strategy resulted in fewer QALYs gained and greater costs compared with the no booster strategy.ConclusionThe introduction of a DTaP booster vaccination to the routine immunization schedule can be expected to reduce the number of pertussis cases in the target population. However, our study showed that adding a booster vaccination for 6-year-old children to the schedule in Japan would not be cost-effective in terms of achieving herd immunity among unvaccinated infants.     

Cost-effectiveness of universal rotavirus vaccination in reducing rotavirus gastroenteritis in Ireland

We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of universal infant rotavirus (RV) vaccination compared to current standard of care of “no vaccination”. Two RV vaccines are currently licensed in Ireland: Rotarix™ and RotaTeq™.A cohort model used in several European countries was adapted using Irish epidemiological, resource utilisation and cost data. The base case model considers the impact of Rotarix vaccination on health-related quality of life of children under five years old from a healthcare payer perspective. Other scenarios explored the use of RotaTeq, impact on one caregiver, on societal costs and on cases that do not seek medical attention. Cost was varied between the vaccine list price (€100/course) in the base case and an assumed tender price (€70/course). One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted.Implementing universal RV vaccination may prevent around 1970 GP visits, 3280 A&E attendances and 2490 hospitalisations. A vaccination programme was estimated to cost approximately €6.54 million per year but €4.65 million of this would be offset by reducing healthcare resource use. The baseline ICER was €112,048/QALY and €72,736/QALY from the healthcare payer and societal perspective, respectively, falling to €68,896 and €43,916/QALY, respectively, if the impact on one caregiver was considered. If the price fell to €70 per course, universal RV vaccination would be cost saving under all scenarios. Results were sensitive to vaccination costs, incidence of RV infection and direct medical costs.Universal RV vaccination would not be cost-effective under base case assumptions. However, it could be cost-effective at a lower vaccine price or from a wider societal perspective.     

Cost effectiveness of pertussis vaccination in adults

BACKGROUND: Prior economic analyses have reached disparate conclusions about whether vaccinating adults against pertussis would be cost effective. Newly available data on pertussis incidence were used to evaluate the cost effectiveness of one-time adult vaccination and adult vaccination with decennial boosters. METHODS: A Markov model was used to calculate the health benefits, risks, costs, and cost effectiveness of the following strategies: (1) no adult pertussis vaccination, (2) one-time adult vaccination at 20-64 years, and (3) adult vaccination with decennial boosters. The impact of the severity of pertussis illness, vaccine adverse events, and herd immunity on model outcomes were also examined. RESULTS: At a disease incidence of 360 per 100,000, the one-time adult vaccination strategy would prevent 2.8 million cases, and the decennial vaccination strategy would prevent 8.3 million cases. As disease incidence varied from 10 to 500 per 100,000, the one-time adult vaccination strategy was projected to prevent 79,000 to 3.8 million adult pertussis cases, while the decennial vaccination program would prevent 239,000 to 11.4 million cases. A one-time adult vaccination strategy would result in 106 million people vaccinated, or approximately 64% of the adult cohort, for a total program cost of $2.1 billion, while a decennial vaccination strategy would cost $6.7 billion. The one-time and decennial booster vaccination strategies result in cost-effectiveness ratios of <$50,000 per quality-adjusted life year saved if disease incidence in adults were greater than 120 cases per 100,000 population. CONCLUSIONS: Routine vaccination of adults aged 20 to 64 years with combined tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis is cost effective if pertussis incidence in this age group is greater than 120 per 100,000 population.     

Burden of paediatric rotavirus gastroenteritis and potential benefits of a universal rotavirus vaccination programme with RotaTeq in France

This study aimed at estimating the paediatric RotaVirus GastroEnteritis (RVGE) burden in children aged up to 5 years, and at evaluating health and economic benefits of a universal infant vaccination with a pentavalent rotavirus vaccine, in France. A decision analytic model was constructed considering a cohort of French children from birth to 5 years old. In the absence of a universal rotavirus immunisation programme, the model predicts that of every new French birth cohort, 336,738 children would present a RVGE case, which would result in 33,386 hospitalisations, 14 deaths and more than 279,000 work days lost for the parents. The management of these RVGE cases would cost 63 million euro to the National Healthcare Payer and would reach up to 117 million euro when all indirect costs were included. The introduction of a universal rotavirus vaccination would avoid 249,400 RVGE cases and consequently about 25,700 hospitalisations, 6000 nosocomial infections, 81,200 emergency visits, 39,900 general practitioner or paediatrician consultations, 11 deaths and 206,700 parental work days lost. RVGE total costs would be reduced by 47 million euro for the National Healthcare Payer and by 88 million euro from the Societal perspective. Therefore, a routine universal rotavirus vaccination programme represents an opportunity to significantly reduce the high paediatric RVGE burden in France.     

Economic burden of HPV-related cancers in France

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is associated with a range of diseases and cancers at different anatomical sites. In addition to its role as a necessary cause of cervical cancer, HPV is also associated with cancers of the vulva, vagina, anus, penis, head and neck. With the exception of cervical cancer, however, very few data are available on the economic burden of HPV-associated cancers. We assessed the annual costs associated with management of HPV-related cancers in France from the healthcare payers’ perspective. We used data from studies that employed similar methodologies to estimate the costs during 2006 for cervical cancer, vulvar and vaginal cancers, anal cancer, and penile cancer, and during 2007 for head and neck cancers. Data on hospital-management costs for cancer were derived from the French national hospital database. The costs of outpatient care and daily allowance costs were estimated using data from the French National Institute of Cancer report for 2007. The costs for HPV-related cancers were estimated according to the percentage of each cancer type attributable to HPV infection. The estimated total costs associated with HPV-related cancers in France were €239.7 million. The overall costs in men were €107.2 million, driven mainly by head and neck cancers (€94.6 million). The total costs in women were €132.5 million, due mainly to invasive cervical cancer (€83.9 million). The costs associated with HPV-related cancers are important to consider when evaluating the overall benefits of HPV vaccination in males and females.     

An observational,cohort, multi-centre,open label phase IV extension study comparing preschool DTAP-IPV booster vaccine responses in children whose mothers were randomised to one of two pertussis-containing vaccines or received no pertussis-containing vaccine in pregnancy in England

An antenatal pertussis vaccination programme was introduced in 2012 in the UK in the context of a national outbreak of pertussis. It has been shown that a lower antibody response to primary immunisation can be seen for certain pertussis antigens in infants born to women who received pertussis-containing antenatal vaccines, a phenomenon known as blunting. The longer-term impact of this has not been documented previously, and accordingly was evaluated in this study.Children were predominantly recruited from a previous study in which their mothers had received acellular pertussis-containing antenatal vaccines (dTaP₃-IPV [diphtheria toxoid, tetanus toxoid, three antigen acellular pertussis and inactivated polio] or dTaP₅-IPV [diphtheria toxoid, tetanus toxoid, five antigen acellular pertussis and inactivated polio]), or no pertussis-containing vaccine. Blood samples were obtained prior to and one month after the acellular pertussis-containing preschool booster (dTaP₅-IPV) was given at around age 3 years 4 months. Pre- and post-booster immunoglobulin G (IgG) geometric mean concentrations (GMCs) against pertussis toxin, filamentous haemagglutinin, fimbriae 2 & 3, and pertactin, were compared.Prior to the receipt of the preschool booster, there was no difference in the IgG GMCs against pertussis-specific antigens between children born to women vaccinated with dTaP₃-IPV and dTaP₅-IPV; however, IgG GMCs against pertussis toxin were significantly lower in children born to women vaccinated with dTaP₃-IPV compared with children born to unvaccinated women (geometric mean ratio 0.42 [95 % CI 0.22–0.78], p = 0.03). One month after the receipt of the preschool booster there was no differences between the groups.The blunting effect of antenatal pertussis vaccine on pertussis responses in children can persist until preschool age, although it is overcome by the administration of a booster dose.ClinicalTrials.gov registration number: NCT03578120     

Anti-pertussis antibody kinetics following DTaP-IPV booster vaccination in Norwegian children 7–8 years of age

At the age of 7–8 years a booster of diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis and polio vaccine is recommended for children in Norway. In this cross-sectional study we have analysed the antibody levels against pertussis vaccine antigens in sera from 498 children aged 6–12 years. The purposes of this study were to investigate the duration of the booster response against the pertussis vaccine antigens pertussis toxin (PT) and filamentous haemagglutinin (FHA); to determine the presence of high levels of pertussis antibodies in absence of recent vaccination; and to analyse how booster immunisation may interfere with the serological pertussis diagnostics. Prior to the booster the IgG antibody levels against PT revealed a geometric mean of 7.3 IU/ml. After the booster the geometric mean peak anti-PT IgG response reached to 45.6 IU/ml, followed by a steady decline in antibody levels over the next few years. The IgG anti-FHA levels followed the anti-PT IgG profiles. Three years after the booster the geometric mean IgG levels were only slightly above pre-booster levels. Prior to the booster 44% of the sera contained ≤5 IU/ml of anti-PT IgG compared to18% 3 years after and 30% 4 years after the booster. When recently vaccinated children were excluded, 6.2% of the children had anti-PT IgG levels above 50 IU/ml which may indicate pertussis infection within the last 2 years. This study indicates that the currently used acellular pertussis vaccines induce moderate immune responses to the pertussis antigens and that the antibodies wane within few years after the booster. This lack of sustained immune response may partly be responsible for the increased number of pertussis cases observed in this age group during the last years.     

The cost-effectiveness of rotavirus vaccination: Comparative analyses for five European countries and transferability in Europe

Cost-effectiveness analyses are usually not directly comparable between countries because of differences in analytical and modelling assumptions. We investigated the cost-effectiveness of rotavirus vaccination in five European Union countries (Belgium, England and Wales, Finland, France and the Netherlands) using a single model, burden of disease estimates supplied by national public health agencies and a subset of common assumptions. Under base case assumptions (vaccination with Rotarix^®, 3% discount rate, health care provider perspective, no herd immunity and quality of life of one caregiver affected by a rotavirus episode) and a cost-effectiveness threshold of €30,000, vaccination is likely to be cost effective in Finland only. However, single changes to assumptions may make it cost effective in Belgium and the Netherlands. The estimated threshold price per dose for Rotarix^® (excluding administration costs) to be cost effective was €41 in Belgium, €28 in England and Wales, €51 in Finland, €36 in France and €46 in the Netherlands.     

Trends in governmental expenditure on vaccination programmes in the Netherlands,a historical analysis

BackgroundHealth economic evaluations are often required before implementing a vaccination programme. Such evaluations rarely consider the historical context of a vaccination programme. We review the financial history of vaccination programmes in the Netherlands, and compare these to demographic and macroeconomic developments as well as avoided mortality burden.MethodsPreviously uncatalogued historical expenditures on the Dutch National Immunisation Programme (NIP) and influenza vaccination were obtained from official reports. Costs were adjusted for inflation using Consumer Price Indices and expressed in Euro of 2016. Estimates on mortality burden averted were obtained from previous research and used to calculate the ratio of expenses to averted mortality burden for vaccinations against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, measles, mumps and rubella for birth cohorts 1953–1992.ResultsDevelopments towards a uniform government funded NIP started early 1950s with vaccinations against diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus, culminating in its official launch in 1957 together with polio vaccinations. Since the 1980s, expenditure increased nearly five-fold mostly due to the addition of new vaccines, while spending on already implemented vaccinations tended to decline. Overall, expenditure increased from € 5 million in 1957 to € 93 million in 2014. Relative to total healthcare expenditure, the NIP contributed little, ranging between 0.05% and 0.14%. Spending on influenza vaccination increased from € 37 million in 1996 to € 52 million in 2014, while relative to total healthcare expenditure it decreased from 0.069% to 0.055%. In 2014, 0.15% of healthcare expenditure and € 533 per birth was spent on vaccination programmes. Overall, for birth cohorts 1953–1992, € 5.4 thousand (95% confidence interval: 4.0–7.3) was expended per year-of-life-lost averted.ConclusionThe actual costs per year-of-life gained are more favorable than estimated here since averted medical costs were not included. Although expenditure on vaccination programmes increased substantially, the contribution to overall healthcare expenditure remained small.     

中国急性心肌梗塞的疾病经济负担

主要通过对急性心肌梗塞疾病经济负担的研究，总体描述进行二线预防的重要性。资料主要来源于中文文献检索、政府统计报表。主要利用直接医疗费用来计算疾病经济负担，而未考虑直接非医疗费用和间接费用。中日急性心肌梗塞的发病率约为45／10万。55／10万。城市高于农村，男性高于女性。在2000年，急性心肌梗塞的死亡率在城市为32．39／10万，农村为17．99／10万，其死亡率随年龄增长而相应增长。与发病率一样，城市高于农村，男性高于女性。25岁以上人群因急性心肌梗塞而损失的DALY在2000年为3．57DALYs／千人口。怎性心肌梗塞的直接医疗费用在国家卫生部部属医院为28257元／例，省级医院为8663元／例，县级医院为5447无／例。测算2000年急性心肌梗塞的疾病经济负担为13亿元。19亿元。但由于只有10．6％的急性心肌梗塞病人得到临床床治疗，因此，本测算结果可能低估了在中国实际发生的疾病经济负担。     

The cost of epidemiological transition: A study of a decrease in pertussis vaccination coverage

Based on a transfer function intervention model applied to epidemiological data of pertussis incidence and pertussis vaccination in England and Wales, the consequences of pertussis vaccination strategies were estimated in terms of health effects and economic direct costs. It was established that sixth dose pertussis vaccination programs at 90% coverage were the most cost saving for short-term and for long-term vaccination prevention strategies. We considered two alternative strategies with whole-cell or acellular vaccines for primary course and acellular vaccine for two booster doses in children and one booster in adolescents. As a rule, programs based on exclusive use of acellular vaccines for all the doses were more expensive.Direct costs of programs with the vaccination rate at 90% remained systematically lower than the expected cost of pertussis disease in the case of non prevention. The stability over time of the vaccination coverage at a constant level of 90% made it possible to ensure the largest cost saving strategy during the period of 14 years of analysis. Transitions to programs with a lower proportion of vaccinated children systematically incurred an incremental direct cost for society. The amount of that cost rose with the size of the drop in the new vaccination coverage and diminished, due to the J-curve optimistic effect, when the fall in vaccination rate generated a delayed increase in notification cases of pertussis.     

Epidemiology and cost of treatment of genital warts in Spain

Background: Genital warts (GW) are common and increasing inyoung people. Ninety percent of GW are due to Human Papillomavirus(HPV) types 6 and 11. The objective of this study was to assessthe epidemiology and management costs associated with GW inSpain. Methods: A 1-year (2005) retrospective observational study wasperformed among a sample of gynaecologists, dermatologists andurologists in six autonomous regions in Spain. Men and womenwith newly diagnosed, recurrent or resistant GW were included.We estimated the incidence (new and recurrent cases) and prevalence(also including resistant cases) of GW. Healthcare resourceuse were collected and combined with unit costs to assess themean cost of GW management per patient. These figures were extrapolatedto the 14- to 64-year-old Spanish population to estimate thetotal cost of GW management from the Third Party Payer (TPP)and societal perspectives. Results: The overall annual incidence of GW was estimated at160.4 cases per 100 000. Overall prevalence was calculated as182.1 cases per 100 000, corresponding to 56 446 GW cases annually(14- to 64-year-old population). The mean management cost was833 and 1056 per patient from the TPP and societal perspective,respectively. The overall annual cost was estimated at 47 millionand 59.6 million, from the TPP and societal perspective, respectively. Conclusion: This study provides a first overview of the burdenof GW in Spain. A quadrivalent HPV vaccine that prevents HPV6, 11, 16, 18 related diseases will have the potential to significantlydecrease the socio-economic burden associated with GW in Spain.     

Cost and cost-effectiveness of childhood vaccination against rotavirus in France

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of routine childhood vaccination by new vaccines against rotavirus in France. METHODS: We constructed a Markov decision tree to compare two alternatives: "no vaccination" and "vaccination". A hypothetical birth cohort of 750,000 children was followed until 3 years of age. First, the disease burden without vaccine was estimated using data from French databases and medical literature. Incidence rates in unvaccinated children were modelled as a function of age and seasons. Next, using data from the medical literature, the vaccine's protective effect on rotavirus diarrhoea was considered. RESULTS: A routine universal rotavirus immunization programme was estimated capable of annually avoiding 89,000 cases of diarrhoea, 10,500 hospitalizations, and 8 deaths. At a vaccination cost of euro 150/course, assuming 75% vaccine coverage, the programme would cost euro 95 million and involve a net loss of euro 68 million to the health care system. The vaccination programme would cost euro 298,000/year of life saved, and euro 138,000/QALY saved. Key variables affecting the results were disease incidence, mortality rates and vaccine price. CONCLUSION: In France, childhood rotavirus vaccination with new anti-rotavirus vaccines would reduce the morbidity burden of rotavirus infection, but would not be cost-effective unless the price of vaccine decreased considerably.     

Nonmedical economic consequences attributable to visual impairment

The nonmedical costs of visual impairment are crucial when allocating resources for prevention or treatment programs. Were analyzed the data from two representative nationwide French surveys aimed at documenting impairments that included 14,603 subjects living in institutions and 16,945 in the community. Three groups were identified: blind (light perception), low vision (loss of shape perception, LV), and controls. Item consumption was standardized on confounding factors using logistic regression. Costs attributable to visual impairment were estimated from control subjects. National nonmedical costs due to visual impairment were euro 9,806 million, arising mostly from LV (euro 8,735 million). The annual average cost/subject was euro 7,242 for LV and euro 15,679 for blindness. Loss of family income was euro 4,552 million, the burden on the caregiver euro 2,525 million, paid assistance euro 2,025 million, social allowances euro 0,942 million, and unmet needs euro 5,553 million. Resource allocation strategies aimed at controlling visual impairment should cover all relevant economic dimensions, including nonmedical items.     

The cost of epidemiological transition: a study of a decrease in pertussis vaccination coverage

Based on a transfer function intervention model applied to epidemiological data of pertussis incidence and pertussis vaccination in England and Wales, the consequences of pertussis vaccination strategies were estimated in terms of health effects and economic direct costs. It was established that sixth dose pertussis vaccination programs at 90% coverage were the most cost saving for short-term and for long-term vaccination prevention strategies. We considered two alternative strategies with whole-cell or acellular vaccines for primary course and acellular vaccine for two booster doses in children and one booster in adolescents. As a rule, programs based on exclusive use of acellular vaccines for all the doses were more expensive. Direct costs of programs with the vaccination rate at 90% remained systematically lower than the expected cost of pertussis disease in the case of non prevention. The stability over time of the vaccination coverage at a constant level of 90% made it possible to ensure the largest cost saving strategy during the period of 14 years of analysis. Transitions to programs with a lower proportion of vaccinated children systematically incurred an incremental direct cost for society. The amount of that cost rose with the size of the drop in the new vaccination coverage and diminished, due to the J-curve optimistic effect, when the fall in vaccination rate generated a delayed increase in notification cases of pertussis.     

Economic evaluation of an extended acellular pertussis vaccine programme for adolescents in Ontario, Canada

PURPOSE: Pertussis is a frequent cause of cough illness in adolescents. In Canada, until recently immunization against pertussis in public programmes has been restricted to children under the age of 7. The purpose of this analysis was to estimate the health and economic impact of an additional booster dose of the acellular vaccine in adolescents in Ontario. METHODS: We performed a cost effectiveness analysis, based on a predictive spreadsheet dynamic model following a cohort of 144,000 adolescents in Ontario from the age of 12 years over a 10-year-period from the Ontario Ministry of Health (MoH) and societal perspectives. The model was used to compare costs and benefits of a combined vaccination programme (CVP) including tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (dTacp) administered at age 12, compared to current practice. RESULTS: From the MoH perspective, booster vaccination of dacpT at 12 years via the CVP would produce a yearly additional expected cost of CAD $0.52 per adolescent in Ontario with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of CAD $168 per pertussis case avoided based on a 10-year-period. If outcomes are discounted at 3%, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio rises to $188/discounted pertussis case avoided. From the societal perspective, the CVP would be cost saving CAD $858,106 at 10 years for the cohort. Over the 10-year-period, more than 4400 cases of pertussis would be prevented with approximately 50 hospital admissions averted. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that administering a booster dose of dTacp at 12 years of age to replace diphtheria and tetanus vaccination at 14 years may reduce the economic burden of pertussis treatment in the long term at a reasonable cost.     

Cost-effectiveness of childhood rotavirus vaccination in Germany

Background

Rotavirus (RV) causes a highly contagious gastroenteritis especially in children under five years of age. Since 2006 two RV-vaccines are available in Europe (Rotarix^® and RotaTeq^®). To support informed decision-making within the German Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) the cost-effectiveness of these two vaccines was evaluated for the German healthcare setting.

Methods

A Markov model was developed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness from the statutory health insurance (SHI) and from the societal perspective. RV-cases prevented, RV-associated hospitalizations avoided, and quality-adjusted life years (QALY) gained were considered as health outcomes. RV-incidences were calculated based on data from the national mandatory disease reporting system. RV-vaccine efficacy was determined as pooled estimates based on data from randomized controlled trials. Vaccine list prices and price catalogues were used for cost-assessment. Effects and costs were discounted with an annual discount rate of 3%.

Results

The base-case analysis (SHI-perspective) resulted in an incremental cost-effectiveness and cost-utility ratio for Rotarix^® of € 184 per RV-case prevented, € 2457 per RV-associated hospitalization avoided, and € 116,973 per QALY gained. For RotaTeq^®, the results were € 234 per RV-case prevented, € 2622 per RV-associated hospitalization avoided, and € 142,732 per QALY gained. Variation of various parameters in sensitivity analyses showed effects on the ICERs without changing the overall trend of base-case results. When applying base-case results to the 2012 birthcohort in Germany with 80% vaccination coverage, an estimated 206,000–242,000 RV-cases and 18,000 RV-associated hospitalizations can be prevented in this birthcohort over five years for an incremental cost of 44.5–48.2 million €.

Conclusion

Our analyses demonstrate that routine RV-vaccination could prevent a substantial number of RV-cases and hospitalizations in the German healthcare system, but the saved treatment costs are counteracted by costs for vaccination. However, with vaccine prices reduced by ∼62–66%, RV-vaccination could even become a cost-saving preventive measure.     

Economic evaluation and survival analysis of immunoglobulin adsorption in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy

Idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a life-threatening heart disease and a major reason for heart transplantations. The medical efficacy of immunoadsorption (IA) for DCM patients has been demonstrated in initial clinical studies. This prospective matched-case control study examined 5-year survival rates, direct medical costs, and cost-effectiveness in Germany (n=34) from a health-care system perspective. In a cost-effectiveness analysis costs per life year gained were calculated. Patients treated with IA showed a greater survival rate: 5-year survival rate in the intervention group was 82% vs. 41% in controls. Log rank statistics after Kaplan-Meier analysis of cumulated survival probability were highly significant. Initial intervention costs for IA were found to be 28,400 euro per patient treated. Direct medical costs for a 5-year follow-up were 128,600 euro per patient treated with IA and 75,500 euro in controls. Considering only the actual survival time we calculated annual treatment costs of 24,900 euro in the IA group and 28,900 euro in controls. The cost-effectiveness ratio expressed in costs per life year gained was 34,400 euro. This is the first controlled study to perform 5-year survival analysis and economic evaluation of this new emerging technology for patients with DCM. Although high initial treatment costs for IA are incurred, the significantly better survival rates lead to reasonable costs per live year gained.