Abstract
Background
Group A streptococcal (GAS) pharyngitis is common in the United States (US). Each year, approximately 12 million people seek medical care for pharyngitis, accounting for ~2% of ambulatory care visits. The gold standard method for diagnosing GAS is culture. However, because culture is time intensive, rapid antigen detection tests (RADTs), with or without culture confirmation, are commonly used. Although RADTs provide results quickly, test sensitivity has been shown to be sub-optimal, which can lead to inappropriate treatment decisions. Recently, highly sensitive point-of-care nucleic acid amplification tests (POC NAAT), such as the cobas® Liat® System, have emerged. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness (CE) and budget impact (BI) of adopting POC NAAT compared with RADT+culture confirmation to diagnose GAS pharyngitis from the US third-party payer perspective.
Methods
A decision-tree economic model was developed in Microsoft Excel to quantify costs and clinical outcomes associated with POC NAAT and RADT+culture over a one-year period. All model inputs were derived from published literature and public databases. Model outputs included costs and clinical effects measured as quality-adjusted life days (QALDs) lost. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the impact of uncertainty on results.
Results
CE analysis showed that POC NAAT would cost $44 per patient compared with $78 with RADT+ culture. POC NAAT was associated with fewer QALDs lost relative to RADT+ culture. Therefore, POC NAAT may be considered the “dominant” strategy (i.e., lower costs and higher effectiveness). Findings were robust in sensitivity analyses. BI analysis showed that adopting POC NAAT for diagnosis of GAS could yield cost-savings of 0.3% vs. current budget over 3 years. This is due to savings associated with testing, GAS-related complications, antibiotic treatment and treatment-associated complication costs.
Conclusion
Results suggest that adopting POC NAAT to diagnose GAS would be considered cost-effective and yield cost-savings for US payers relative to RADT+culture. Access to POC NAAT would be important to optimize appropriate GAS diagnosis and treatment decisions.
Disclosures
All authors: No reported disclosures.
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