• Denise M Boudreau, Gregory F Guzauskas, Er Chen, Deepa Lalla, Darren Tayama, Susan C Fagan, and David L Veenstra.
• From the University of Washington, Seattle (D.M.B., G.F.G., D.L.V.); Genentech, Inc South San Francisco, CA (E.C., D.T.); Palo Alto Outcomes Research, CA (D.L.); and University of Georgia College of Pharma... more cy, Athens (S.C.F.). dboudrea@u.washington.edu. less
• Stroke. 2014 Oct 1;45(10):3032-9.

Background And PurposeDespite the availability of results from multiple newer clinical trials and changing healthcare costs, the cost-effectiveness of recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (r-tPA) for treatment of acute ischemic stroke within 0 to 3 hours of symptom onset was last evaluated in 1998 for the United States Using current evidence, we evaluate the long-term cost-effectiveness of r-tPA administered 0 to 3 hours after acute ischemic stroke onset versus no r-tPA.MethodsA disease-based decision model to project lifetime outcomes of patients after acute ischemic stroke by r-tPA treatment status from the US payer perspective was developed. Model inputs were derived from a recent meta-analysis of r-tPA trials, cohort studies, and health state preference studies. Cost data, inflated to 2013 dollars, were based on drug wholesale acquisition cost and the literature. To compare r-tPA to no r-tPA, we calculated incremental total direct costs, incremental quality-adjusted life years, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios. We performed 1-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses to evaluate uncertainty in the results.Resultsr-tPA resulted in a gain of 0.39 quality-adjusted life years (95% confidence range, 0.16-0.66) on average per patient and a lifetime cost-saving of $25,000 (95% confidence range, -$42,500 to -$11,000) compared with no r-tPA. In probabilistic sensitivity analyses, r-tPA was dominant compared with no r-tPA in ≈100% of simulations. The model was sensitive to inputs for r-tPA efficacy, healthcare costs for disabled patients, mortality rates for disabled and nondisabled patients, and quality of life estimates.ConclusionsOur analysis supports earlier economic evaluations that r-tPA is a cost-effective method to treat stroke. Appropriate use of r-tPA should be prioritized nationally.© 2014 American Heart Association, Inc.

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