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Cost Effectiveness of Antiviral Treatment with Zalcitabine plus Zidovudine for AIDS Patients with CD4+ Counts Less Than 300/µ1 in 5 European Countries

  • Pharmacoeconomic Drug Evaluation
  • Antiviral Treatment for AIDS Patients
  • Published:
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Abstract

Summary

A cost-effectiveness model was developed on the basis of early clinical trial results from the US reporting sustained CD4+ cell response in patients receiving zalcitabine in addition to zidovudine. This model was then adapted and applied to 5 European countries to assess the comparative cost effectiveness of adding zaldtabine to antiviral treatment for AIDS patients. The countries included in the modelling effort were Switzerland, France, Italy, Germany and the UK. The model used a Markov state-transition process to estimate the rate of acute opportunistic disease episodes, li fetime medical treatment costs, and survival for pop. ulations of AIDS patients with baseline CD4+ counts of less than 300/]l1. Physic ian panels in each country developed standard treatment algorithms and adjusted the epidemiological data to renect the AIDS profile of each country. Economic consultants provided cost data. Results from this exploratory data analysis show that if CD4+ counts correlate with the incidence of opportunistic disease episodes as expected, the combined use of zalcitabine and zidovudinc for a 1-year period should be cost effective.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CBI# 7400, 1101 McCavranGreenberg Bldg, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-7400, USA

    Kit Simpson

  2. Battelle Europe Medical Technology and Policy Centre, London, England

    Evi J. Hatzialldreu, Fredrik Anderssoll & Annabelle Shakespeare

  3. Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA

    Jnga Oleksy & Anna N.A. Tosteson

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  1. Kit Simpson
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  2. Evi J. Hatzialldreu
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  6. Anna N.A. Tosteson
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Simpson, K., Hatzialldreu, E.J., Anderssoll, F. et al. Cost Effectiveness of Antiviral Treatment with Zalcitabine plus Zidovudine for AIDS Patients with CD4+ Counts Less Than 300/µ1 in 5 European Countries. Pharmacoeconomics 6, 553–562 (1994). https://doi.org/10.2165/00019053-199406060-00008

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2165/00019053-199406060-00008

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