Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of the TCM “Yupingfeng Granules” in the Treatment of Acute Exacerbations of COPD Based on a Randomized Clinical Trial

Ming Hu,1,* Pan Ding,1,* Jinfang Ma,2 Nan Yang,1 Jinping Zheng,2 Naitong Zhou1 1West China School of Pharmacy Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China; 2State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Naitong Zhou, West China School of Pharmacy Sichuan University, No. 17, 3rd Section, Renmin South Road, Chengdu, 610041, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-13881962880, Fax +86-28-85501387, Email zhou-2316@163.com Jinping Zheng, State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health, the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, 151 Yanjiang Road, Guangzhou, 510120, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 20 8306 2869, Fax +86 20 8306 2729, Email jpzhenggy@163.comIntroduction: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is becoming increasingly important as it provides further options for treating many diseases worldwide. The TCM “Yupingfeng” has been used in China for over 800 years, and its clinical efficacy and safety for COPD treatment have been proven in previous studies. The objective of this study was to compare the long-term cost-effectiveness of Yupingfeng granules and the current conventional treatment for COPD patients in China.Methods: A Markov model was constructed from the perspective of the Chinese healthcare system using TreeAge Pro 2011. The model cycle length was 12 months, and the cycle time was set to 10 years. Data from a randomized controlled trial were used to generate the number of acute exacerbations, COPD assessment test (CAT) score and actual medication used. The state transition probabilities, costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) w