Abstract
Background: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common condition affecting men. Studies have shown that the prevalence of LUTS/BPH increases with age, which will cause considerable economic burden to the healthcare system and society. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the long term cost effectiveness of dutasteride and tamsulosin therapy compared to tamsulosin alone in men with BPH in Hong Kong.Methods: A Markov decision model was constructed to estimate the economic impact from a healthcare payers’ perspective, which only included direct costs. Analyses were conducted for a 4-year time frame.Results: When compared to tamsulosin alone, combination therapy was more expensive but also more effective in preventing complications and reduced the need for surgery. Over life-time projection suggest that combination therapy will be cost-effective if the willingness-to pay threshold of USD 20,000.Conclusion: Findings of this study found that combination therapy of tamsulosin and dutasteride was more cost-effective compared to tamsulosin alone across a wide range of scenario.
Highlights
Lower urinary tract symptom (LUTS) suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common condition among middle-aged to elderly men
A Markov model was developed to project the overall costsavings of combination therapy in a hypothetical cohort of 10,000 patients treated in the public healthcare sector of Hong Kong (HK)
Combination therapy can lead to cost reduction of US$31, US$1,029, and US$2 per patient due to reduced episodes of acute urinary retention (AUR), TURP and need of medical intervention, respectively and a delay in patient’s progression to AUR and TURP
Summary
Lower urinary tract symptom (LUTS) suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common condition among middle-aged to elderly men. It is characterized by a cluster of chronic urinary symptoms in the bladder, prostate, and a major cause of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Population based studies suggested that nearly one in every four men aged 50 and above is affected by LUTS (Lee et al, 2017). Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common condition affecting men.
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