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Specific immunotherapy is the only causal treatment in respiratory allergy. Due to high treatment cost and possible severe side effects subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) is not indicated in all patients. Nevertheless, reported treatment rates seem to be low. This study aims to analyze the effects of increasing treatment rates of SCIT in respiratory allergy in terms of costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). A state-transition Markov model simulates the course of disease of patients with allergic rhinitis, allergic asthma and both diseases over 10 years including a symptom-free state and death. Treatment comprises symptomatic pharmacotherapy alone or combined with SCIT. The model compares two strategies of increased and status quo treatment rates. Transition probabilities are based on routine data. Costs are calculated from the societal perspective applying German unit costs to literature-derived resource consumption. QALYs are determined by translating the mean change in non-preference-based quality of life scores to a change in utility. Key parameters are subjected to deterministic sensitivity analyses. Increasing treatment rates is a cost-effective strategy with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of 3484€/QALY compared to the status quo. The most influential parameters are SCIT discontinuation rates, treatment effects on the transition probabilities and cost of SCIT. Across all parameter variations, the best case leads to dominance of increased treatment rates while the worst case ICER is 34,315€/QALY. Excluding indirect cost leads to a twofold increase in the ICER. Measures to increase SCIT initiation rates should be implemented and also address improving adherence.

Background: Upper airway stimulation (UAS) is a treatment approach for patients with moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea who cannot adhere to continuous positive airway pressure therapy. Objective: The objective was to evaluate added patient benefit and cost-effectiveness of UAS in the German health care system. Methods: We used a decision-analytic Markov model to project major adverse cardiovascular or cerebrovascular events (myocardial infarction [MI] or stroke), motor vehicle collision (MVC), mortality, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and costs. The assumed reduction in the apnea-hypopnea index with UAS compared to no treatment is based on German real-world data. Other input data were derived from the literature, public statistics, and multivariate regression. Cost-effectiveness was evaluated in Euros per QALY gained, both discounted at 3%. Results: UAS was projected to reduce event risks (10-year relative risk for stroke, MI, cardiovascular death, and MVC: 0.76, 0.64, 0.65, and 0.34, respectively), and to increase survival by 1.27 years. While the UAS strategy incurred an additional 1.02 QALYs within the patient lifetime, there were also additional costs of EUR 45,196, resulting in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of EUR 44,446 per QALY gained. ­Conclusions: In the present model-based analysis, UAS therapy provides meaningful benefit to patient-relevant endpoints and is a cost-effective therapy in the German setting.

Background Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a highly effective HIV prevention strategy for men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM). The high cost of PrEP has until recently been a primary barrier to its use. In 2017, generic PrEP became available, reducing the costs by 90%. Aim Our objective was to assess cost-effectiveness and costs of introducing PrEP in Germany. Methods We calibrated a deterministic mathematical model to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic among MSM in Germany. PrEP was targeted to 30% of high-risk MSM. It was assumed that PrEP reduces the risk of HIV infection by 85%. Costs were calculated from a healthcare payer perspective using a 40-year time horizon starting in 2018. Results PrEP can avert 21,000 infections (interquartile range (IQR): 16,000–27,000) in the short run (after 2 years scale-up and 10 years full implementation). HIV care is predicted to cost EUR 36.2 billion (IQR: 32.4–40.4 billion) over the coming 40 years. PrEP can increase costs by at most EUR 150 million within the first decade after introduction. Ten years after introduction, PrEP can become cost-saving, accumulating to savings of HIV-related costs of EUR 5.1 billion (IQR: 3.5–6.9 billion) after 40 years. In a sensitivity analysis, PrEP remained cost-saving even at a 70% price reduction of antiretroviral drug treatment and a lower effectiveness of PrEP. Conclusion Introduction of PrEP in Germany is predicted to result in substantial health benefits because of reductions in HIV infections. Short-term financial investments in providing PrEP will result in substantial cost-savings in the long term.