British Journal of Dermatology
British Journal of Dermatology
5 years ago

Doxycycline compared to prednisolone therapy for patients with bullous pemphigoid: cost-effectiveness analysis of the BLISTER trial

A. Chapman, H. C. Williams, K Harman, D. Whitham, , F. Wojnarowska, J. M. Mason, J. R. Chalmers, S. Walton, E. Schmidt, G. Kirtschig, M. Childs, A. J. Nunn, T. Godec
Background Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is an autoimmune blistering skin disorder associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Doxycycline and prednisolone to treat bullous pemphigoid were compared within a randomised controlled trial (RCT). Objectives To compare the cost-effectiveness of doxycycline-initiated and prednisolone-initiated treatment for patients with BP. Methods a multicentre, parallel-group, investigator-blinded RCT. Within-trial analysis used bivariate regression of costs and QALYs, with multiple imputation of missing data, informing a probabilistic assessment of incremental treatment cost-effectiveness from a health service perspective Results In the base case, there was no robust difference in costs or QALYs per patient at 1 year comparing doxycycline-initiated therapy with prednisolone-initiated therapy (net cost: £959, 95% CI –£24 to £1941; net QALYs: –0.024, 95% CI –0.088 to 0.041). However, findings varied by baseline blister severity. For patients with mild or moderate blistering (≤30) net costs and outcomes were similar. For patients with severe blistering (>30) net costs were higher (£2558, 95% CI –£82 to £5198) and quality of life poorer (–0.090 QALYs, 95% CI–0.222 to 0.042) for patients starting on doxycycline. The probability that doxycycline would be cost-effective for those with severe pemphigoid was 1.5% at a willingness to pay of £20,000/QALY. Conclusions Consistent with the clinical findings of the BLISTER trial, patients with mild or moderate blistering should receive treatment guided by the safety and effectiveness of the drugs and patient preference - neither strategy is clearly a preferred use of NHS resources. However, prednisolone-initiated treatment may be more cost-effective for patients with severe blistering. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi

DOI: 10.1111/bjd.16006

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