Cost-effectiveness analysis of intra-articular injections of a high molecular weight bioengineered hyaluronic acid for the treatment of osteoarthritis knee pain

研究概要

This study utilized two decision analytics models comparing bioengineered hyaluronic acid (BioHA) to the patient’s baseline conventional care (CC). The two models consisted of different assumptions: CC with no assumption of disease progression (Model 1), or CC including escalating care costs due to disease progression (model 2). The models were based off of a trial of 586 patients receiving either intra articular BioHA or intra articular saline. Outcomes of interest was the average utility (QALY) gain, cost per QALY gained, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). The results revealed that BioHA is less costly and more effective than CC, and is below a willingness-to-pay threshold of $50,000 per QALY gained, depending on the model used.