Levalbuterol vs. albuterol for hospitalized patients with COPD in China: cost-utility and budget impact analysis

Abstract

Objectives For hospitalized patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), albuterol and levalbuterol can both be used as relievers to alleviate bronchoconstriction. This study aimed to evaluate levalbuterol and albuterol's cost-utility and budget impact in hospitalized patients with COPD. Interventions A cost-utility analysis was used to evaluate the impact on the costs of nebulized levalbuterol verse albuterol in hospitalized patients with COPD. The decision tree model was employed to estimate the incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year in the admission setting. A budget impact model was used to examine the impact of budget on levalbuterol's entry into the Chinese market from the healthcare system's perspective. One-way sensitivity and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to test the uncertainty of the parameters. Results The cost-utility results showed that levalbuterol saved ¥495.7 ($105.1) per hospitalization, while the budget impact analysis revealed a potential saving of ¥22.3 ($6.8) million in 3 years. The sensitivity analysis indicated that the results were robust to the changes in input parameter values. Conclusion Levalbuterol is a cost-saving option for treating hospitalized patients with COPD in China.