scholarly journals Cost-effectiveness of catheter ablation versus medical therapy for the treatment of atrial fibrillation in the United Kingdom

EP Europace ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (Supplement_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
L Leung ◽  
RJ Imhoff ◽  
D Frame ◽  
PJ Mallow ◽  
L Goldstein ◽  
...  

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Private company. Main funding source(s): This research study was funded by Biosense Webster, Inc. Dr Leung has received research support from Attune Medical (Chicago, IL) towards a research fellowship at St. George"s University of London. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. Background Randomised data on patient-related outcomes comparing catheter ablation to medical therapy for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) have shown the effectiveness of catheter ablation. Ablation versus medical therapy should also be analysed from a health economics perspective to achieve optimal healthcare resource allocation. Purpose To determine the cost effectiveness of catheter ablation compared to medical therapy for the treatment of atrial fibrillation, from the perspective of the UK National Health Service. Methods A patient-level Markov health-state transition model was used to conduct a cost utility analysis comparing catheter ablation and medical therapy for the treatment of AF. A systematic review and meta-analysis of catheter ablation treatment versus medical therapy (rhythm and/or rate control drugs) was conducted to enable comparison of AF recurrence between treatment groups utilising the model. Additional model parameters were established based upon a best-evidence review of the literature. The model simulated care delivered from a secondary care perspective. Total patients simulated in this model over a lifetime were 250,000, with patients entering the model at age 64. Only previously treated AF patients were included, including those with concomitant heart failure. A separate scenario analysis was conducted to determine the cost effectiveness specifically in the cohort of patients with AF and heart failure. Main outcomes measures Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) and average total expected costs and quality-of-life years (QALYs) incurred over the lifetime of a patient. AF recurrence, complications and cardiovascular adverse events were compared over the total duration inside the model. Results In the base case analysis, catheter ablation resulted in a favourable ICER of £8,614 per additional QALY gained when compared to medical therapy, well below the national Willingness-to-Pay threshold of £20,000. Catheter ablation was associated with an expected increase of 1.01 QALYs, while adding an additional cost £8,742 over a patient’s lifetime. The cost-effectiveness of catheter ablation was improved in the heart failure sub-group analysis, with an ICER of £6,438. A significantly greater proportion of patients in the medical therapy group failed rhythm control at any stage compared to catheter ablation (72% vs 24%) and at a faster rate (median time to treatment failure: 3.8 vs 10 years). Conclusion Catheter ablation appears to be a highly cost-effective treatment for atrial fibrillation, compared to medical therapy, from the perspective of the UK National Health Service. With low rates of adverse events and superiority in achieving rhythm control, AF ablation services should be prioritised with appropriate allocation of healthcare resources.

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. e031033 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lan Gao ◽  
Marj Moodie

ObjectivesAssessing the cost-effectiveness credentials of this intervention in patients with concomitant atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) compared with usual medical therapy.DesignA Markov model comprising two health states (ie, alive or dead) was constructed. The transition probabilities were directly derived from published Kaplan-Meier curves of the pivotal randomised controlled trial and extrapolated over the cohort’s lifetime using recommended methods. Costs of catheter ablation, outpatient consultations, hospitalisation, medications and examinations were included. Resource use and unit costs were sourced from government websites or published literature. A lifetime horizon and a healthcare system perspective were taken. All costs and benefits were discounted at 3% annually. Deterministic (DSA) and probabilistic sensitivity analyses (PSA) were run around the key model parameters to test the robustness of the base case results.ParticipantsA hypothetical Australian cohort of patients with concomitant AF and HF who are resistant to antiarrhythmic treatment.InterventionsCatheter ablation versus medical therapy.ResultsThe catheter ablation was associated with a cost of $A44 377 per person, in comparison to $A28 506 for the medical therapy alone over a lifetime. Catheter ablation contributed to 4.58 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and 6.99 LY gains compared with 4.30 QALYs and 6.53 LY gains, respectively, in the medical therapy arm. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was $A55 942/QALY or $A35 020/LY. The DSA showed that results were highly sensitive to costs of ablation and time horizon. The PSA yielded very consistent results with the base case.ConclusionsOffering catheter ablation procedure to patients with systematic paroxysmal or persistent AF who failed to respond to antiarrhythmic drugs was associated with higher costs, greater benefits. When compared with medical therapy alone, this intervention is not cost-effective from an Australia healthcare system perspective.


Circulation ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 132 (suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
T J Bunch ◽  
Heidi T May ◽  
Tami L Bair ◽  
Victoria Jacobs ◽  
Brian G Crandall ◽  
...  

Introduction: Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) is an established therapeutic rhythm approach in symptomatic patients. Obesity is a dominant driver of AF recurrence after ablation. Weight reduction strategies lower general AF burden and as such may be critical to long-term success rates after ablation. Hypothesis: Long-term outcomes after AF ablation will be better in obese patients with sustained weight loss. Methods: All patients that underwent an index ablation with a BMI recorded and >30 kg/m 2 and at least 3 years of follow-up were included (n=407). The group was separated and compared by weight trends over the 3 years (1. Lost >3% of index weight, n=141; 2. Maintained index weight ±3%, n=147; 3. Gained >3% of index weight at 3 years, n=119). Long-term outcomes included AF recurrence and a composite defined as major adverse clinical events, MACE (stroke/TIA, heart failure (HF) hospitalization, and death). Results: The average age was 63.6±10.4 years, 59.3% were male and 51.7% had paroxysmal AF. AF comorbidities include: hypertension (79.5%), heart failure (36.0%), sleep apnea (35.2%), diabetes (28.9%), and stroke/TIA (5.9%). Those that maintained their weight (HR: 1.45, p=0.05) and those that gained weight (HR 1.54, p=0.07) were more likely to have AF recurrence compared to those that lost weight. Similarly, MACE increased from 18.4% in those that lost weight at 3 years compared to 18.6% (HR 1.32, p=0.29) in those that maintained their weight and 26.5% in those that gained weight (HR 2.01, p=0.02). A small group of patients (n=5), lost >3% then gained it back and ultimately increased their weight by 3%. This group had the highest rates of AF recurrence (100%). Conclusion: Maintained weight loss is a critical component in reducing AF recurrence rates after index catheter ablation in obese patients. Sustained weight loss also results in a reduction in AF-related comorbidities and mortality.


Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nobuaki Tanaka ◽  
KOICHI INOUE ◽  
Atsushi Kobori ◽  
Kazuaki Kaitani ◽  
Takeshi Morimoto ◽  
...  

Background: Heart failure (HF) is the leading cause of death in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) of AF is effective for maintaining sinus rhythm though its impact on heart failure still remains controversial. Purpose: We sought to elucidate whether AF recurrence following RFCA was associated with subsequent HF hospitalizations. Methods: We conducted a large-scale, prospective, multicenter, observational study. A total of 4931 consecutive patients who underwent an initial RFCA for AF with longer than 1-year of follow-up in 26 centers were enrolled (average age, 64±10 years; non-paroxysmal AF, 35.7%). The median follow-up duration was 2.9 years. The primary endpoint was an HF hospitalization more than 1-year after the index RFCA. We compared the patients without AF recurrences (group A) to those with AF recurrences within 1-year post RFCA (group B). Results: The 1-year cumulative incidence of AF recurrences after a single procedure was 30.7% (group A=3418, group B=1513 patients). Group B had a lower body mass index (group A vs. group B,24.1±3.6 vs. 23.8±3.4 kg/m 2 , p=0.014), longer history of AF (1.9 vs. 3.1 years, p<0.0001), higher prevalence of non-paroxysmal AF (32.1% vs. 33.9%, p<0.0001), and valvular heart disease (5.9% vs. 7.8%, p=0.013). They also had a lower ejection fraction (63.7±9.4% vs. 62.8±9.6%, p=0.0043) and larger left atrial dimeter (39.7±6.6 vs. 40.6±7.0 mm, p<0.0001) on echocardiography. Hospitalizations for HF were observed in 57 patients (1.14%) more than 1-year after the RFCA and were significantly higher in group B than group A (group A vs. group B, 0.91% vs 1.72%, log-rank p=0.019). Conclusions: Among AF patients receiving RFCA, those with AF recurrences were at a greater risk of subsequent heart failure hospitalizations than those without AF recurrences. Recognition that AF recurrence following RFCA is a risk factor for a subsequent HF-related hospitalization is appropriate in clinical practice.


Heart ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 104 (12) ◽  
pp. 1006-1013 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J V McMurray ◽  
David Trueman ◽  
Elizabeth Hancock ◽  
Martin R Cowie ◽  
Andrew Briggs ◽  
...  

ObjectiveChronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HF-REF) represents a major public health issue and is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of sacubitril/valsartan (formerly LCZ696) compared with an ACE inhibitor (ACEI) (enalapril) in the treatment of HF-REF from the perspective of healthcare providers in the UK, Denmark and Colombia.MethodsA cost-utility analysis was performed based on data from a multinational, Phase III randomised controlled trial. A decision-analytic model was developed based on a series of regression models, which extrapolated health-related quality of life, hospitalisation rates and survival over a lifetime horizon. The primary outcome was the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER).ResultsIn the UK, the cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained for sacubitril/valsartan (using cardiovascular mortality) was £17 100 (€20 400) versus enalapril. In Denmark, the ICER for sacubitril/valsartan was Kr 174 000 (€22 600). In Colombia, the ICER was COP$39.5 million (€11 200) per QALY gained. Deterministic sensitivity analysis showed that results were most sensitive to the extrapolation of mortality, duration of treatment effect and time horizon, but were robust to other structural changes, with most scenarios associated with ICERs below the willingness-to-pay threshold for all three country settings. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis suggested the probability that sacubitril/valsartan was cost-effective at conventional willingness-to-pay thresholds was 68%–94% in the UK, 84% in Denmark and 95% in Colombia.ConclusionsOur analysis suggests that, in all three countries, sacubitril/valsartan is likely to be cost-effective compared with an ACEI (the current standard of care) in patients with HF-REF.


Medicina ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 511
Author(s):  
Takahisa Koi ◽  
Naoya Kataoka ◽  
Teruhiko Imamura ◽  
Koichiro Kinugawa

In the management of atrial fibrillation in patients with heart failure, rate control is recommended, whereas the implication of rhythm control remains controversial. We experienced a 65-year-old man who had compensated heart failure due to hypertensive heart disease and atrial fibrillation with well-controlled heart rate (<100 bpm). At three months following the catheter ablation procedure, the left ventricular ejection fraction improved from 40% up to 65%. The implication of rhythm control using catheter ablation in improving cardiac reverse remodeling should be validated in large-scale clinical studies.


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