PHARMACOECONOMIC EVALUATION OF NALOXONE DISTRIBUTION FOR THE PREVENTION OF OPIOID OVERDOSE FATALITIES- A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Author(s)
ABSTRACT WITHDRAWN
OBJECTIVES : Drug overdose mortality became the number one cause of accidental deaths in the United States. In 2017, the Department of Human Health and Services declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency. Naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal agent, was recommended by the surgeon general to reduce opioid overdose deaths. This study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of naloxone distribution to adults at risk of opioid overdose via literature review. METHODS : We conducted a systematic review following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) statement. MEDLINE/PubMed and Embase were searched using key terms to identify primary sourced articles published between January 1997 and June 2018. Two independent reviewers searched evaluated studies based on inclusion/exclusion criteria and performed data extraction. RESULTS : We identified five studies including four cost-effectiveness studies and one cost-benefit study. The studies were done in different countries and different health care settings. All cost-effectiveness studies reported low Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratios (ICERs) ranging from $94 to £899 per QALY gained, suggesting that distributing naloxone to at risk population cost relatively low to gain additional quality-adjusted life years. In addition, the cost-benefit analysis suggested that such programs can be cost-saving as the naloxone drug acquisition cost was offset by mean medical resource savings of about $472,000 in 2015. CONCLUSIONS : Naloxone distribution to heroin users for lay overdose reversal is cost-effective at standard willingness-to-pay of US $50,000-100,000 or UK £20,000. In addition, NAI acquisition costs can be offset through medical cost reductions. Our study synthesized the existing pharmacoeconomic evidence on naloxone distribution to at risk population and can facilitate the planning of such programs in the future.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2019-05, ISPOR 2019, New Orleans, LA, USA
Value in Health, Volume 22, Issue S1 (2019 May)
Code
PDG18
Topic
Economic Evaluation
Topic Subcategory
Cost-comparison, Effectiveness, Utility, Benefit Analysis
Disease
Drugs