Cost-Effectiveness of Switching Patients With Heart Failure and Reduced Ejection Fraction to Sacubitril/Valsartan: The Australian Perspective.
BACKGROUND
The cost-effectiveness, from the Australian health care perspective, of switching patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFREF) stable on angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) to the angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor (ARNi) sacubitril/valsartan is unclear. We sought to assess the cost-effectiveness of sacubitril/valsartan versus enalapril in patients with HFREF in the contemporary Australian setting.


METHODS
We developed a Markov model with two health states ('Alive' and 'Dead') to assess the cost-effectiveness of sacubitril/valsartan versus enalapril in patients with HFREF. Model subjects were 63 years of age at entry and had simulated follow-up over 20 years. Transition probabilities were derived from the Prospective comparison of ARNI with ACEI to Determine Impact on Global Mortality and morbidity in Heart Failure (PARADIGM-HF) study. Costs and utility data were derived from published sources. All costs and effects were discounted at an annual rate of 5% and are presented in Australian dollars. Sensitivity analyses were undertaken to test variability in key data inputs.


RESULTS
In the base-case analysis, sacubitril/valsartan was found to reduce non-fatal heart failure hospitalisations and cardiovascular deaths, with numbers-needed-to-treat over a 20-year period of 40 and 27, respectively. The use of sacubitril/valsartan led to an additional 6 months of life gained per patient, translating to A$27,954 per years of life saved (YoLS) and A$40,513 per quality-adjusted-life-years (QALY) gained. The results of the sensitivity analyses indicated that the results were robust.


CONCLUSIONS
Our analysis supports switching HFREF patients on ACE inhibitor or ARB to sacubitril/valsartan.
['Chin|Ken Lee|KL|', 'Zomer|Ella|E|', 'Wang|Bing H|BH|', 'Liew|Danny|D|']
D000613:Aminobutyrates D057911:Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists D001315:Australia D001713:Biphenyl Compounds D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis D004338:Drug Combinations D005260:Female D005500:Follow-Up Studies D005544:Forecasting D006333:Heart Failure D006760:Hospitalization D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D015260:Neprilysin D011446:Prospective Studies D013318:Stroke Volume D013777:Tetrazoles D000068756:Valsartan
Cost-effectiveness Heart failure angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor (ARNi) Enalapril Sacubitril-valsartan