Cost-effectiveness of dabigatran compared with warfarin in the treatment of patients with non valvular atrial fibrillation in Colombia

Introduction Atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common cardiac rhythm disorder, increases the risk of stroke risk by 5 fold. AF prevalence in Colombia has been estimated in 3.6% in population age 60 or over (some 180 000 patients). Objective The aim of this study was to estimate cost-effectiveness of dabigatran 110 and 150 mg BID compared with warfarin as a therapy for non valvular AF in Colombian population. Methods From a third-party payer perspective (Colombian health system) we used a three-month cycle Markov model with 6 health states (and death): non-disabling stroke, disabling stroke, myocardial infarction and pulmonary embolism; two additional events were minor and mayor bleeding. Transition probabilities and proportion of events were extracted from the RELY trial; utilities were derived from the literature. Costs for medications and procedures were obtained from official government databases, all costs were in 2014 Colombian pesos (1 USD = 2.000 COP). Annual discount rate was 5% and we used a life time horizon (close to 20 years, on average). Cost-effectiveness threshold was 3 times per capita GDP (around USD 22,500). Results Compared with warfarin, patients treated with dabigatran 150 and 110 mg gained, on average 0.37 and 0.23 life-years respectively, or 0.55 and 0.43 QALYs. The ICER for dabigatran 150 mg was USD 11,537 per QALY, and for dabigatran 110 mg was 17,090 per QALY gained. Conclusions Dabigatran 150 and 110 mg, compared with warfarin —the standard therapy— are cost-effective therapies for ambulatory treatment of patients with non valvular AF.