Tratamiento farmacológico de primera línea para la depresión en la población adulta (>18 años): evaluación económica para Colombia

Objective: to identify the most cost-effective treatment for depression in Colombia. Population: women and men older than 19 years
old, with a recent depression diagnosis, which were attended in primary attention and had not received any previous treatment.
Compared alternatives: most frequently used and available drugs in Colombia for depression management.
Perspective: from the health system
Outcome: impact on initial response, remission of signs of depression, relapse and abandonnement.
Economic outcome: incremental cost for quality-adjusted life year
Time horizon: 15 months
Information source: transition probabilities were extracted from the literature. Costs were estimated from depression patient’s health
care bills.
Analysis: estimation of the ratio of incremental cost-effectiveness between dominant alternatives.
Results: Amitriptilina and Fluoxetina are highly cost-effective strategies in the first line treatment for moderated and severe depression, compared to other drugs. Sertralina, at 2012 prices, was the second choice.