Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34538271›Full record

ArticleCost effectiveness and resource allocation : C/E2021

Cost-effectiveness analysis for SilAtro-5-90 adjuvant treatment in the management of recurrent tonsillitis, compared with usual care only.

Thomas Ostermann, A-La Park, Sabine De Jaegere, Katharina Fetz, Petra Klement, Christa Raak, David McDaid

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cost effectiveness and resource allocation : C/E, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 33% 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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
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

7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Thomas OstermannDepartment of Psychology and Psychotherapy, Witten/Herdecke University, Alfred-Herrhausen-Straße 50, 58448, Witten, Germany. Thomas.Ostermann@uni-wh.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2695-0701
A-La ParkCare Policy and Evaluation Centre, Department of Health Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE, UK.
Sabine De JaegereDeutsche Homöopathie-Union, DHU-Arzneimittel GmbH & Co. KG, Ottostraße 24, 76227, Karlsruhe, Germany.
Katharina FetzDepartment of Psychology and Psychotherapy, Witten/Herdecke University, Alfred-Herrhausen-Straße 50, 58448, Witten, Germany.
Petra KlementDeutsche Homöopathie-Union, DHU-Arzneimittel GmbH & Co. KG, Ottostraße 24, 76227, Karlsruhe, Germany.
Christa RaakInstitute of Integrative Medicine, Witten/Herdecke University, Gerhard-Kienle-Weg 4, 58313, Herdecke, Germany.
David McDaidCare Policy and Evaluation Centre, Department of Health Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE, UK.
Witten/Herdecke University · DEDeutsche Homöopathie-Union · DELondon School of Economics and Political Science · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeAntibiotics are one possible treatment for patients with recurrent acute throat infections (ATI), but effectiveness can be modest. In view of worries over antibiotic resistance, treatment pathways that reduce recurrence of ATI are essential from a public health perspective. Integrative treatment strategies can be an option but there is still a high demand to provide evidence of their cost effectiveness.

methodsWe constructed a 4-state Markov model to compare the cost-effectiveness of SilAtro-5-90 as adjuvant homeopathic therapy to care as usual with care as usual alone in reducing the recurrence of ATI for children and adults with suspected moderate recurrent tonsillitis. The analysis was performed from a societal perspective in Germany over a 2-year period. Results are reported separately for children < 12 and for individuals aged 12 and over. The model draws on evidence from a multi-centre randomised clinical trial that found this strategy effective in reducing recurrence of ATI. Costs in 2019 € and outcomes after 1 year are discounted at a rate of 3% per annum.

resultsFor adults and adolescents aged 12 years and over, incremental cost per ATI averted in the adjuvant therapy group was €156.64. If individuals enter the model on average with a history of 3.33 previous ATIs, adjuvant therapy has both lower costs and better outcomes than care as usual. For children (< 12 years) adjuvant therapy had both lower costs and ATI than care as usual. The economic case is stronger if adjuvant treatment reduces surgical referral. At a hypothetical cost per ATI averted threshold of €1000 probabilistic sensitivity analysis suggests Silatro-5-90 has a 65% (adults) and 71% (children) chance of being cost-effective.

conclusionOur results indicate the importance of considering homeopathy as adjuvant therapy in the treatment of ATIs in individuals with recurrent tonsillitis from a socio-economic perspective. Further evaluation should assess how differences in uptake and sustained use of homeopathic adjuvant therapy, as well as changing patterns of antibiotic prescribing, impact on cost effectiveness.

Indexed as

Acute throat infectionsCost effectivenessHomeopathyTonsillitis

Identifiers

PMID34538271
PMCPMC8451093
OpenAlexW3201353207

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.