RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Cost-effectiveness Analysis for Genotyping before Allopurinol Treatment to Prevent Severe Cutaneous Adverse Drug Reactions
JF The Journal of Rheumatology
JO J Rheumatol
FD The Journal of Rheumatology
SP 835
OP 843
DO 10.3899/jrheum.151476
VO 44
IS 6
A1 Ching-Hua Ke
A1 Wen-Hung Chung
A1 Yen-Hsia Wen
A1 Yaw-Bin Huang
A1 Hung-Yi Chuang
A1 You-Lin Tain
A1 Yu-Ching Lily Wang
A1 Cheng-Chih Wu
A1 Chien-Ning Hsu
YR 2017
UL http://www.jrheum.org/content/44/6/835.abstract
AB Objective. Patients with an HLA-B*58:01 allele have an increased risk of developing severe cutaneous adverse drug reactions (SCAR) when treated with allopurinol. Although one-off pharmacogenetic testing may prevent life-threatening adverse drug reactions, testing prior to allopurinol initiation incurs additional costs. The study objective was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of HLA-B*58:01 screening compared with using other available urate-lowering agents (ULA).Methods. A decision-analytical model was used to compare direct medical costs and effectiveness [including lifetime saved, quality-adjusted life-yrs (QALY) gained] in treating new patients with the following options: (1) genetic screening followed by allopurinol prescribing for noncarriers of HLA-B*58:01, (2) prescribing benzbromarone without screening, (3) prescribing febuxostat without screening, and (4) prescribing allopurinol without screening. A 1-year time frame and third-party payer perspective were modeled for both the entire cohort (base-case) and for the subgroup of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).Results. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of genetic screening prior to ULA therapy was estimated as New Taiwan (NT) $234,610 (US$7508) per QALY gained in the base-case cohort. For patients with CKD, it was estimated as NT$230,925 (US$7390) per QALY. The study results were sensitive to the probability of benzbromarone/febuxostat-related hypersensitivity, and a negative predicted value of genotyping.Conclusion. HLA-B*58:01 screening gave good value for money in preventing allopurinol-induced SCAR in patients indicated for ULA therapy. In addition to the costs of genotyping, it is important to monitor ULA safety closely in adopting HLA-B*58:01 screening in practice.