Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine is a cost saving strategy for prevention of acute coronary syndrome

ObjectiveThere is evidence that the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) may reduce cardiovascular disease. We aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of PPV for primary prevention of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in the elderly in Australia.MethodsA Markov model was developed to investigate the costs, QALYs and ICERs of PPV administration in those aged ≥65 years without a history of ACS from the perspective of Australian healthcare system, using elderly-specific clinical data and local costs from Australian Heart Foundation and Australian Institute of Health and Welfare databases. A ten-years horizon was used, and all costs and health outcomes were discounted at 5% annually. The impact of various assumptions was tested with sensitivity analyses.ResultsIn the base-case analysis, interventional strategy (100% PPV coverage) prevented an additional five incident ACS events among 1000 “healthy” elderly individuals compared with standard of care (50% PPV coverage) over 10 years. 100% PPV was the dominant strategy, resulting in a QALY gain of 0.0075 and cost saving of AU$ 179 per person. The results were most sensitive to effectiveness of PPV at preventing ACS and reducing hospital bed-days, and cost of ACS admission, but in all sensitivity analyses 100% PPV remained the dominant strategy. Shortening the time horizon from ten to five years resulted in further cost saving.ConclusionPPV for the prevention of ACS in those aged ≥65 is a dominant intervention strategy, with cost saving and minor improvements in QALY. Healthcare providers should promote PPV administration for all eligible populations.