Cost-effectiveness of primarily surgical versus primarily conservative treatment of acute and subacute radiculopathies due to intervertebral disc herniation from the Swiss perspective

Optimising the current model of care for knee osteoarthritis with the implementation of guideline recommended non-surgical treatments: a model-based health economic evaluation

AIMS OF THE STUDY

Structured exercise, education, weight management and painkiller prescription are guideline recommended non-surgical treatments for patients suffering from knee osteoarthritis. Despite its endorsement, uptake of guideline recommended non-surgical treatments remains low. It is unknown whether the implementation of these treatments into the current model of care for knee osteoarthritis would be cost-effective from a Swiss statutory healthcare perspective. We therefore aimed to (1) assess the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of an optimised model of care incorporating guideline recommended non-surgical treatments in adults with knee osteoarthritis and (2) the effect of total knee replacement (TKR) delay with guideline recommended non-surgical treatments on the cost-effectiveness of the overall model of care.

METHODS

A Markov model from the Swiss statutory healthcare perspective was used to compare an optimised model of care incorporating guideline recommended non-surgical treatments versus the current model of care without standardised guideline recommended non-surgical treatments. Costs were derived from two Swiss health insurers, a national database, and a reimbursement catalogue. Utility values and transition probabilities were extracted from clinical trials and national population data. The main outcome was the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for three scenarios: "base case" (current model of care vs optimised model of care with no delay of total knee replacement), "two-year delay" (current model of care vs optimised model of care + two-year delay of total knee replacement) and "five-year delay" (current model of care vs optimised model of care + five-year delay of total knee replacement). Costs and utilities were discounted at 3% per year and a time horizon of 70 years was chosen. Probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted.

RESULTS

The "base case" scenario led to 0.155 additional quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) per person at an additional cost per person of CHF 341 (ICER = CHF 2,203 / QALY gained). The "two-year delay" scenario led to 0.134 additional QALYs and CHF -14 cost per person. The "five-year delay" scenario led to 0.118 additional QALYs and CHF -501 cost per person. Delay of total knee replacement by two and five years led to an 18% and 36% reduction of revision surgeries, respectively, and had a cost-saving effect.

CONCLUSION

According to this Markov model, the optimisation of the current model of care by implementing guideline recommended non-surgical treatments would likely be cost-effective from a statutory healthcare perspective. If implementing guideline recommended non-surgical treatments delays total knee replacement by two or five years, the amount of revision surgeries may be reduced.

Direct medical costs after surgical or nonsurgical treatment for degenerative lumbar spinal disease: A nationwide matched cohort study with a 10-year follow-up

Objective

The demand for treating degenerative lumbar spinal disease has been increasing, leading to increased utilization of medical resources. Thus, we need to understand how the budget of insurance is currently used. The objective of the present study is to overview the utilization of the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) by providing the direct insured cost between patients receiving surgery and patients receiving nonsurgical treatment for degenerative lumbar disease.

Methods

The NHIS-National Sample Cohort was utilized to select patients with lumbar disc herniation, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis or spondylolysis. A matched cohort study design was used to show direct medical costs of surgery (n = 2,698) and nonsurgical (n = 2,698) cohorts. Non-surgical treatment included medication, physiotherapy, injection, and chiropractic. The monthly costs of the surgery cohort and nonsurgical cohort were presented at initial treatment, posttreatment 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months and yearly thereafter for 10 years.

Results

The characteristics and matching factors were well-balanced between the matched cohorts. Overall, surgery cohort spent $50.84/patient/month, while the nonsurgical cohort spent $29.34/patient/month (p<0.01). Initially, surgery treatment led to more charge to NHIS ($2,762) than nonsurgical treatment ($180.4) (p<0.01). Compared with the non-surgical cohort, the surgery cohort charged $33/month more for the first 3 months, charged less at 12 months, and charged approximately the same over the course of 10 years.

Conclusion

Surgical treatment initially led to more government reimbursement than nonsurgical treatment, but the charges during follow-up period were not different. The results of the present study should be interpreted in light of the costs of medical services, indirect costs, societal cost, quality of life and societal willingness to pay in each country. The monetary figures are implied to be actual economic costs but those in the reimbursement system instead reflect reimbursement charges from the government.

Economic Evaluation in Neurological Physiotherapy: A Systematic Review

This systematic review was carried out to compile and assess original studies that included economic evaluations of neurological physiotherapy interventions. A thorough search of PubMED, Cochrane and Embase was developed using keywords such as health economics, neurological physiotherapy and cost analysis, and studies published during the last six-year term were selected. A total of 3124 studies were analyzed, and 43 were eligible for inclusion. Among the studies analyzed, 48.8% were interventions for stroke patients, and 13.9% were focused on Parkinson's disease. In terms of the countries involved, 46.5% of the studies included were developed in the UK, and 13.9% were from the USA. The economic analysis most frequently used was cost-utility, implemented in 22 of the studies. A cost-effectiveness analysis was also developed in nine of those studies. The distribution of studies including an economic evaluation in this discipline showed a clear geographic dominance in terms of the pathology. A clear upward trend was noted in the economic evaluation of interventions developed in neurological physiotherapy. However, these studies should be promoted for their use in evidence-based clinical practice and decision-making.

Lumbar Disc Herniation

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Substantial advancements have been made in the cause, diagnosis, imaging, and treatment options available for patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH). We examined the current evidence and highlight the concepts on the frontline of discovery in LDH.

RECENT FINDINGS

There are a myriad of novel etiologies of LDH detailed in recent literature including inflammatory factors and infectious microbes. In the clinical setting, recent data focuses on improvements in computer tomography as a diagnostic tool and non-traditional injection options including tumor necrosis alpha inhibitors and platelet-rich plasma. Operative treatment outcomes have focused on minimally invasive endoscopic approaches and demonstrated robust 5-year post-operative outcomes. Advances in the molecular etiology of LDH will continue to drive novel treatment options. The role of endoscopic treatment for LDH will continue to evolve. Further research into10-year outcomes will be necessary as this surgical approach continues to gain widespread popularity.