Lungen- und Atemwegsmedizin

Pharmacoeconomic Analysis of the Therapies Used in the Treatment of Smoking in a Specialized Unit

Abstract

Pedro J Tarraga Lopez, Raul Grdoy, Francisco Javier Callejas, Ana I Tornero, Jose Antonio Rodriguez Montes, Angel Molina and Denis Oriot

Objective: Cost-effectiveness analysis of the major tobacco control tools medium long term.

Method: This is a retrospective, descriptive study of the results obtained after analyzing the sample of all patients who attended the Unit Specialized Treatment Smoking during two years. Without drug treatment: the costs and effectiveness of the four options used in our Unit for smoking cessation compared: 1) Bupropion+ NRT, 2) Varenicline, 3) Varenicline and NRT and 4) No pharmacology treatment.

Costs and efficiency: Efficiencies rates for comparison are the result of our study for the 4 options. All costs are expressed in euros, both costs and an effect beyond the first year rate of 3.5% per annum is deducted.

Results: Of the 559 patients, 32.7% received no treatment. 34.5% (n=194) of patients was treated with NRT (gum, patches or in combination with varenicline). Varenicline is the second most frequently used drug with 22.9% and, finally, bupropion (9.8%). The analysis results show that the greater efficacy of varenicline is a better cost/effectiveness (C/E) in the treatment of smoking medium to long term that comes to fully offset the higher cost of treatment compared to the other options. So both varenicline monotherapy as associated with TSN have average costs of € 2.491,21 and € 2.432,22 per patient who quit smoking compared to the other options with Bupropion and TSN 4.136,55 € or drug treatment to 5.783,88 € in a perspective of two years.

Conclusion: The option of giving Varenicline is a better cost/effectiveness (C/E) in the treatment of smoking-half longer than the other options.