Affiliations 

  • 1 School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia; Asian Centre for Evidence Synthesis in Population, Implementation and Clinical Outcomes, Health and Well-being Cluster, Global Asia in the 21st Century (GA21) Platform, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia.
  • 2 Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong
  • 3 School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Bandar Sunway, Malaysia
  • 4 College of Commerce, Tamkang University, New Taipei City, Taiwan
Front Pharmacol, 2018;9:1078.
PMID: 30386234 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2018.01078

Abstract

Background: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common condition affecting men. Studies have shown that the prevalence of LUTS/BPH increases with age, which will cause considerable economic burden to the healthcare system and society. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the long term cost effectiveness of dutasteride and tamsulosin therapy compared to tamsulosin alone in men with BPH in Hong Kong. Methods: A Markov decision model was constructed to estimate the economic impact from a healthcare payers' perspective, which only included direct costs. Analyses were conducted for a 4-year time frame. Results: When compared to tamsulosin alone, combination therapy was more expensive but also more effective in preventing complications and reduced the need for surgery. Over life-time projection suggest that combination therapy will be cost-effective if the willingness-to pay threshold of USD 20,000. Conclusion: Findings of this study found that combination therapy of tamsulosin and dutasteride was more cost-effective compared to tamsulosin alone across a wide range of scenario.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.