OBJECTIVES

The Chinese guidelines for pharmacoeconomic evaluations (PE) was initially published in 2011, and updated in 2015 and in 2019. This study aims at identifying the impact of these guidelines on the reporting quality of the PE studies, using PE studies in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) as an example.

METHODS

PE studies published from 2003 to 2019 were systematically searched from CNKI, Wanfang and CQvip, with terms related to PE and NSCLC. The reporting quality of PE studies was assessed with the 24-item Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERs) checklist. The results of this checklist were compared, depending on the publication date (2003-2011, 2012-2015, and 2016-2019).

RESULTS

Ninety-nine PE studies were included, out of which 28, 36 and 35 were published in 2003-2011, 2012-2015, and 2016-2019, respectively.

Overall, 17% CHEERS items were not applicable and 51% of applicable items were met by the PE studies. The proportion of items applicable, and the proportion of applicable items reporting well in the PE studies significantly increased after each update (20%, 18%, 14%; 38%, 45%, 68%; both P<0.05).

Items were met by 38% studies on average. The items with most and least studies reporting well were “Setting and location” (95%) and “Characterising heterogeneity” (0%) respectively. The reporting quality have been significantly improved in 13 and 18 items after the 1^st update and after 2 updates (both P<0.05). The reporting quality have been significantly improved after the 2^nd update in 14 Items (p<0.05), with 8 items having already been improved after the 1^st update, including “Title”, “Background and objectives”, “Time horizon”, “Measurement of effectiveness”, “Estimating resources and costs”, “Choice of model”, ”Study parameters”, “Characterising uncertainty”.

CONCLUSIONS

The PE studies published in China have improved their reporting quality since the publication of the Chinese PE guidelines, and have further improved after the update of the guidelines.