Abstract

ROMERO-PRADA, Martín; ALVIS-GUZMAN, Nelson  and  KARPF-BENAVIDES, Elizabeth. Cost-effectiveness analysis of using calcium plus conjugated linolenic acid for preventing pregnancy-induced hypertension in females at risk in Colombia. Rev Colomb Obstet Ginecol [online]. 2012, vol.63, n.3, pp.215-226. ISSN 0034-7434.

Objective: Analysing the cost-effectiveness of using calcium-linolenic acid and prenatal control compared to calcium and prenatal control for preventing pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) in women at risk in Colombia from a third-party payer viewpoint. Materials and methods: A decision-making tree was used for simulating PIH’s natural history. The outcomes measured were avoided maternal and perinatal mortality. Drug costs were market average (2010). Direct medical costs were taken into account from insurers and individual health benefit records. Results: The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was less on the branch regarding treatment with calcium-linoleic acid than that dealing with calcium for both outcomes ($723,788 per life-year saved in mothers and $103,741 per life-year saved in children compared to $4,709,708 and $2,240,294 for the branch dealing with calcium alone, respectively). Comparing calcium-linoleic acid and calcium revealed the former’s dominance in terms of incremental cost-effectiveness for both outcomes given that it was more effective (0.44 life-years saved in mothers and 11.84 life-years saved in children) and less costly ($6,676,952) for the base case. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio between calcium-linoleic acid and prenatal control would be in favour of the former in both maternal and perinatal outcome. Conclusion: Using calcium-linoleic acid would thus represent the best treatment for females at risk for PIH in Colombia compared to calcium or prenatal control, taking avoided maternal and perinatal deaths as indicator.

Keywords : Pregnancy-induced hypertension; aetiology; preeclampsia; complications during pregnancy; maternal mortality; perinatal mortality.

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