Economic evaluation for Colombia of the main pharmacological interventions as monotherapy for the treatment of newly diagnosed mild to moderate hypertension

Abstract

Objective: in 2012 the guide of clinical practice for management of arterial hypertension (AHT) was developed for Colombia. This economic evaluation (EE) was developed to identify the cost-effectiveness of different pharmacological treatments used as monotherapy, and to support the recommendations in the guidelines. Design: a cohort of adult patients with a diagnosis of hypertension was simulated. The EE was based on a model developed for the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) in the UK. This model was adapted for Colombia in resource consumption and costs. The effectiveness of interventions and transition probabilities were updated for 2012. Results: the results of the analysis of the reference case (man and woman of 65.2% annual risk of cardiovascular disease, 1% of heart failure, 1.1% of diabetes, 20 years of follow-up) showed that quality-adjusted life year (QALY) obtained with diuretic therapy, converting enzyme inhibitors / angiotensin receptor blockers (ACEi / ARB) and calcium antagonists was 9.24, 9.24 and 9.26, respectively. Costs favor diuretics (COP $6 498 624) compared with ACEi / ARB or calcium antagonists (COP $ 13 178 919 and $ 27 774 098 COP), respectively. Therapy with beta-blockers and non-intervention were dominated. Conclusions: the choice of treatment with thiazide-type diuretics as initial monotherapy is the most cost-effective. The main difference between alternatives is given especially by differences in drug costs, since the effectiveness is similar between treatments with diuretics and ACEi / ARB, and only slightly better with calcium antagonists.