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Modeling payback from research into the efficacy of left-ventricular assist devices as destination therapy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2007

Alan J. Girling ,
Guy Freeman ,
Jason P. Gordon ,
Philip Poole-Wilson ,
David A. Scott  and
Richard J. Lilford
Alan J. Girling
Affiliation:
University of Birmingham
Guy Freeman
Affiliation:
University of Warwick
Jason P. Gordon
Affiliation:
University of Birmingham
Philip Poole-Wilson
Affiliation:
Imperial College London
David A. Scott
Affiliation:
University of Southampton and Oxford Outcomes Ltd.
Richard J. Lilford
Affiliation:
University of Birmingham
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Abstract

Objectives: Ongoing developments in design have improved the outlook for left-ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation as a therapy in end-stage heart failure. Nevertheless, early cost-effectiveness assessments, based on first-generation devices, have not been encouraging. Against this background, we set out (i) to examine the survival benefit that LVADs would need to generate before they could be deemed cost-effective; (ii) to provide insight into the likelihood that this benefit will be achieved; and (iii) from the perspective of a healthcare provider, to assess the value of discovering the actual size of this benefit by means of a Bayesian value of information analysis.

Methods: Cost-effectiveness assessments are made from the perspective of the healthcare provider, using current UK norms for the value of a quality-adjusted life-year (QALY). The treatment model is grounded in published analyses of the Randomized Evaluation of Mechanical Assistance for the Treatment of Congestive Heart Failure (REMATCH) trial of first-generation LVADs, translated into a UK cost setting. The prospects for patient survival with second-generation devices is assessed using Bayesian prior distributions, elicited from a group of leading clinicians in the field.

Results: Using established thresholds, cost-effectiveness probabilities under these priors are found to be low (∼.2 percent) for devices costing as much as £60,000. Sensitivity of the conclusions to both device cost and QALY valuation is examined.

Conclusions: In the event that the price of the device in use would reduce to £40,000, the value of the survival information can readily justify investment in further trials.

Keywords

Heart assist devicesCost-effectivenessValue of informationBayesian analysisPrior elicitation
Type
GENERAL ESSAYS
Information
International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care , Volume 23 , Issue 2 , April 2007 , pp. 269 - 277
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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