OBJECTIVES: Collagen Laminin-Based Dermal Matrix Combined with Resveratrol Microparticles (Dermalix) is a wound dressing developed to heal the diabetic wounds. Diabetic foot wound is a major complication of diabetes with considerable burden both on patients and health systems. Around a quarter of diabetic foot infections end with amputation and around a quarter of health expenditures on diabetes are made for this complication. This implies the importance of cost-effective interventions for treatment. The objective of this study is to assess the cost-effectiveness of Dermalix + standard wound care in treatment of diabetic foot ulcers in comparison to only standard wound care in Turkey.

METHODS: The analysis was made from the payer perspective (SGK). A decision tree was developed to meet the objectives of the study. Effectiveness was assessed by the level of wound healing of the ulcer, measured by wound area. Probabilities in the model were taken from the clinical trial (DERMAN) of Dermalix. Diabetic foot ulcer recurrence and amputation probabilities were taken from the literature. Costs included the public reimbursement cost of Dermalix, standard wound care, amputation, prothesis and monitoring costs. Amputation costs were derived from expert views. ICER was estimated as the incremental cost for incremental healing in the wound. Standard wound care comprised of cleaning with saline solution and standard dressing. The duration of treatment was 4 weeks, and no discounting was applied to the results.

RESULTS: The ICER was calculated as 14,290 TRY. There is no officially published threshold to be used in cost-effectiveness analysis in Turkey. According to the recommendations based on GDP per capita calculations, the ICER is below the amount estimated for 2021 (GDP per capita=85.672TRY). One-way sensitivity analysis showed that the results were robust.

CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of diabetic foot ulcer wounds with Dermalix + standard wound care is a cost-effective option in Turkey.