Evidence map›Paper›PMID 22924967›Full record

ReviewPharmacoEconomics2012

The cost effectiveness of newer epilepsy treatments: a review of the literature on partial-onset seizures.

Kristian Bolin, Lars Forsgren

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in PharmacoEconomics, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 25% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Kristian BolinDepartment of Economics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden. Kristian.Bolin@nek.lu.se
Lars Forsgren
Lund University · SEUmeå University · SE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

objectiveEpilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, affecting more than 3 million people in Europe. This paper reviews the published evidence regarding the cost effectiveness of second-generation antiepileptic drugs (AEDs).

methodsA systematic literature search was performed, using the databases Academic Search Complete, Econlit, EMBASE and MEDLINE. Health economic evaluations of newer (second-generation) AEDs, published as full-length journal articles, were searched for. We focused on evaluations of newer AEDs as treatment for partial-onset seizures. 470 studies were initially identified and 19 were finally included. Information regarding (i) AEDs studied, (ii) cost effectiveness, and (iii) a variety of health economic modelling specifics was extracted from each study. Then, the included studies were summarized and a quality assessment was performed, according to the British Medical Journal's guidelines for economic studies.

resultsThe results were as follows: (i) the cost per additional QALY for newer AEDs used as adjunctive treatment, compared with standard therapy, ranged between $US19 139 (levetiracetam) and $US57 210 (pregabalin) [year 2010 values]; no cost-effectiveness evidence was identified for felbamate, eslicarbazepine, oxcarbazepine or tiagabine; and (ii) all studies met at least 60% of the British Medical Journal's guidelines criteria, and seven studies were found to satisfy more than 80% of the criteria. Guidelines criteria not met involve inadequate reporting of input data and modelling details, including validation and availability of models used for cost-effectiveness calculations.

conclusionsAlthough failure to meet good practice guidelines influences the reliability of the presented evidence adversely, a sufficient number of the included studies were found to comply enough with the guidelines in order for the qualitative content of the cost-effectiveness results - that some of the newer AEDs are cost effective - to be reliable. In fact, this conclusion is likely to be relatively robust, since the effect of improved seizure control on labour market performance was not included in the base-case results in any of the included studies and improved seizure control need only to have a moderate effect on sickness absenteeism in order for the corresponding treatment to be cost effective even when willingness to pay for an additional QALY is low. However, the cost effectiveness of newer AEDs has only been studied for a small number of settings, and hence future studies incorporating additional settings are needed.

Indexed as

Practice Guidelines as TopicAbsenteeismAnticonvulsantsCost-Benefit AnalysisEpilepsies, PartialEuropeHumansModels, EconomicQuality-Adjusted Life YearsResearch DesignAnticonvulsants

Identifiers

PMID22924967
OpenAlexW2166437991

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.