Economic Impact of Patterned Frequency-Modulated Oral Stimulation in Preterm Infants
Author(s)
Tobias Muench, MSc1, Carla Fernandez Barceló, MPH1, Alex Veloz, MSc2, Rhodri Saunders, BSc, MSc, PhD1.
1Coreva Scientific GmbH & Co KG, Koenigswinter, Germany, 2HEOR Pro, Chicago, IL, USA.
1Coreva Scientific GmbH & Co KG, Koenigswinter, Germany, 2HEOR Pro, Chicago, IL, USA.
Presentation Documents
OBJECTIVES: Premature childbirth interrupts in-utero development of essential functionalities including non-nutritive sucking (NNS), a pre-requisite for full oral feeding (FOF) and often a requirement for hospital discharge. Patterned and frequency-modulated oro-somatosensory stimulation (PFOS) promotes NNS development, mimicking the ‘burst-pause’ temporal dynamics of the later nutritive suck. This study assessed the economic impact of providing PFOS to preterm infants in the US.
METHODS: A budget impact model from the payer’s perspective was developed, consisting of a decision tree and a semi-Markov model, and comparing PFOS (NTrainer™ system 2.0) to the standard of care. The model comprised the care pathway from childbirth to NICU discharge, following patients up to 5 years, and was informed by published literature. The outcomes of the analysis were total costs (in 2023 USD), NICU days, discharges with nasogastric tubes (NGT), infections, and rehospitalizations. Probabilistic and one-way sensitivity analyses were performed to address uncertainty.
RESULTS: For 100 preterm infants born at a gestational age of 25-30 weeks, the model projected average cost savings of $2,278,657 (95% CrI $4,836,749 - -$360,968), when comparing PFOS to the standard of care (total costs: $20,976,298 vs. $23,254,954, respectively). After 1,000 iterations, the Monte Carlo analysis showed that PFOS was cost-saving in 95.6% of the simulations. These results were driven by a reduced time to FOF and discharge, leading to 575 days saved in the NICU, and a decrease in infections and all-cause rehospitalizations by 2 per 100 patients each.
CONCLUSIONS: This analysis found PFOS to shorten the time to achieve FOF and to be cost saving for preterm infants in the US, supported by robust results when assessing uncertainty.
METHODS: A budget impact model from the payer’s perspective was developed, consisting of a decision tree and a semi-Markov model, and comparing PFOS (NTrainer™ system 2.0) to the standard of care. The model comprised the care pathway from childbirth to NICU discharge, following patients up to 5 years, and was informed by published literature. The outcomes of the analysis were total costs (in 2023 USD), NICU days, discharges with nasogastric tubes (NGT), infections, and rehospitalizations. Probabilistic and one-way sensitivity analyses were performed to address uncertainty.
RESULTS: For 100 preterm infants born at a gestational age of 25-30 weeks, the model projected average cost savings of $2,278,657 (95% CrI $4,836,749 - -$360,968), when comparing PFOS to the standard of care (total costs: $20,976,298 vs. $23,254,954, respectively). After 1,000 iterations, the Monte Carlo analysis showed that PFOS was cost-saving in 95.6% of the simulations. These results were driven by a reduced time to FOF and discharge, leading to 575 days saved in the NICU, and a decrease in infections and all-cause rehospitalizations by 2 per 100 patients each.
CONCLUSIONS: This analysis found PFOS to shorten the time to achieve FOF and to be cost saving for preterm infants in the US, supported by robust results when assessing uncertainty.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2025-05, ISPOR 2025, Montréal, Quebec, CA
Value in Health, Volume 28, Issue S1
Code
MT16
Topic
Medical Technologies
Disease
SDC: Pediatrics, STA: Nutrition