IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v21y2024i12p1569-d1530082.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Cost-Effectiveness of Corneal Collagen Crosslinking for Progressive Keratoconus: A Brazilian Unified Health System Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Lucca Ortolan Hansen

    (Division of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 01246-903, SP, Brazil)

  • Renato Garcia

    (Division of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 01246-903, SP, Brazil)

  • André Augusto Miranda Torricelli

    (Division of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 01246-903, SP, Brazil)

  • Samir Jacob Bechara

    (Division of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 01246-903, SP, Brazil)

Abstract

Keratoconus is a burden to health systems and patients worldwide. Corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) treatment has been shown abroad to be cost-effective for treating progressive keratoconus. However, no cost-effectiveness studies have been performed in Brazil. The aim of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) compared with the conventional treatment for progressive keratoconus from the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) payer’s perspective. A lifetime microsimulation model was utilized to compare the lifetime costs and quality-adjusted life years for patients undergoing corneal collagen CXL or conventional treatment. Two groups of 5000 18-year-old patients were simulated, with one group receiving corneal CXL at the outset and the control group remaining untreated. The TreeAge Pro Healthcare 2024 software was used for modeling and analysis. Corneal collagen CXL demonstrated superior cost-effectiveness compared to the conventional treatment, with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of 58.26 USD/quality-adjusted life years (QALY) gained (95% CI: 58.17–58.36) and a positive incremental net monetary benefit of USD 11,613.82 (95% CI: 11,605.66–11,621.99). CXL significantly reduced the number of required corneal transplants, with a mean of 968.8 (95% CI: 959–978.58) fewer transplants per 10,000 eyes treated. The variable with the most significant impact on the incremental net monetary benefit was the duration of the CXL effect. This study concluded that corneal CXL is a highly cost-effective intervention for progressive keratoconus within the Brazilian SUS. These findings advocate for broader accessibility to this vision-saving treatment within the SUS.

Suggested Citation

  • Lucca Ortolan Hansen & Renato Garcia & André Augusto Miranda Torricelli & Samir Jacob Bechara, 2024. "Cost-Effectiveness of Corneal Collagen Crosslinking for Progressive Keratoconus: A Brazilian Unified Health System Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(12), pages 1-10, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:12:p:1569-:d:1530082
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/12/1569/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/12/1569/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:12:p:1569-:d:1530082. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.