PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Luca Moroni
AU  - Gabriela Restovic
AU  - Ricard Cervera
AU  - Gerard Espinosa
AU  - Odette Viñas
AU  - Milagros García
AU  - Laura Sampietro-Colom
TI  - Economic Analysis of the Use of Anti-DFS70 Antibody Test in Patients with Undifferentiated Systemic Autoimmune Disease Symptoms
AID  - 10.3899/jrheum.190533
DP  - 2020 Aug 01
TA  - The Journal of Rheumatology
PG  - 1275--1284
VI  - 47
IP  - 8
4099  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/47/8/1275.short
4100  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/47/8/1275.full
SO  - J Rheumatol2020 Aug 01; 47
AB  - Objective. In patients with antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and undifferentiated features of systemic autoimmune disease, the coexistence of monospecific anti-dense fine speckled 70 (anti-DFS70) antibodies is associated with a lower risk of progression to overt disease. Therefore, they might help in correctly classifying ANA- positive patients and avoiding unnecessary followup diagnostic procedures. The aim of this study was to analyze the economic effect of the introduction of the anti-DFS70 antibody test in a hospital setting.Methods. A case-control study was performed to detect monospecific anti-DFS70 antibodies in ANA-positive subjects with undifferentiated features (cases, n = 124) and with a defined systemic autoimmune disease (controls, n = 290). Based on current clinical practice, a decision tree was developed to represent the disease course of patients with undifferentiated features in the subsequent 3 years. A budget impact analysis (BIA) was performed to estimate the effect of implementing the screening for anti-DFS70 antibodies in the case group on the total costs. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to calculate the effect of the uncertainty of the input variables on the results.Results. Among the 124 patients in the case group, 5 (4.0%) tested positive for anti-DFS70 antibodies versus 4/290 (1.4%) in the control group (p = not significant). The mean cost per patient under the current clinical practice decreased from €3274 to €3192 in our scenario. The BIA reports cost savings of €10,128.Conclusion. The introduction of anti-DFS70 antibody test would avoid unnecessary followup diagnostic procedures and minimize the use of health resources generated by suspicion of a potential systemic autoimmune disease.