RESUMO
Veno-occlusive disease (VOD) remains a serious complication after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Prophylactic use of defibrotide (DF) might further reduce VOD rates but has no impact on the incidence of severe VOD or VOD-associated mortality. We investigated the cost-effectiveness of prophylactic DF according to the British Committee for Standards in Haematology/British Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation guidelines in 348 children who underwent transplantation between 2001 and 2014 in our hospital, 138 of whom were at risk for VOD. The VOD incidence was 7.4% for the total cohort. Patients at risk had a higher incidence of VOD compared with patients without risk factors (15.2% versus 2.4%, P < .0001). VOD occurred more often in patients after busulfan-based myeloablative conditioning than in patients after total body irradiation (11.2% versus 3.5%, P = .001). Donor types or the transplantation-related mortality (TRM) risk score did not correlate with VOD incidence. In 81% of patients who responded to therapeutic DF, VOD resolved completely. Overall VOD-associated mortality was .3% for the complete cohort, 3.7% for patients diagnosed with VOD, and 20% for patients with severe VOD. Neither the cumulative incidence of TRM (19% ± 8% versus 17% ± 2%, P = .706) nor the median length of hospitalization differed between patients with VOD and patients without. The median costs per HSCT in patients with VOD were about one-third higher than the overall median costs per transplantation at our institution. The calculated total costs of prophylactic DF treatment for 138 patients at risk was almost 6 times as high as the incremental costs for patients with VOD. We conclude that prophylactic DF for children at risk for VOD is not cost-effective with respect to TRM and length of hospital stay.
Assuntos
Transplante de Células-Tronco Hematopoéticas/métodos , Hepatopatia Veno-Oclusiva/tratamento farmacológico , Inibidores da Agregação Plaquetária/economia , Polidesoxirribonucleotídeos/economia , Condicionamento Pré-Transplante/métodos , Transplante Homólogo/métodos , Adolescente , Adulto , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Análise Custo-Benefício , Feminino , Hepatopatia Veno-Oclusiva/patologia , Humanos , Lactente , Recém-Nascido , Masculino , Inibidores da Agregação Plaquetária/uso terapêutico , Polidesoxirribonucleotídeos/uso terapêutico , Adulto JovemRESUMO
The overall costs of pediatric stem cell transplantation (SCT), including donor search and costs during the first year post-SCT, were calculated in a cohort of 141 consecutive children undergoing SCT in a single institution. Costs were correlated with patient and transplantation characteristics and with a risk score for transplantation-related mortality. Cost-effectiveness was calculated based on the overall cost per surviving patient. Life-years gained were extrapolated from overall survival, and the costs per expected life-year gained were calculated. The overall median cost was 136,382 (175,815$), with a wide range, of 26,897 (34,679$) to 601,348 (775,343$). Increased costs were significantly associated with age, use of donors other than matched siblings, and advanced disease. There was a strong correlation of costs with a simple transplantation-related mortality risk score; median total costs were 89,550 (115,463$) for a score of 0, 127,349 (164,179$) for a score of 1, 156,578 (201,861$) for a score of 2, and 274,915 (354,499$) for a score of 3 (P < .001). Cost-effectiveness decreased with increasing transplantation-related mortality risk score; costs per survivor increased from 93,209 (120,200$) for a score of 0 to a maximum of 1,216,348 (1,568,579$) for a score of 3. Costs associated with pediatric SCT vary substantially; however, the combination of variables such as age, disease, and donor type is predictive of costs and cost-effectiveness. Costs per life-year gained are within the broadly accepted range in life-threatening hemato-oncologic diseases, even in the most cost-intensive patient cohort.
