Table 37:
Costs of Monitoring, Medication, and Productivity Loss, Cluster Headache
| Cost | Cost per 4 wk, Ministry of Health perspective | Cost per 4 wk, societal perspective | Distribution | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monitoring: neurologist or headache specialist visit and ECG for verapamil use | $14.18 | $25.95 | Normal | Schedule of Benefits (A185 + G310, G313)96 |
| Acute medication: sumatriptan succinate injection | $132.27 | $549.00 | Normal | Ontario Drug Benefit formulary for unit costs99; frequency based on NICE medical technologies guidance30 |
| Acute medication: inhaled oxygen (societal perspective only, scenario analysis) | $0.00 | $608.15 | Normal | O’Brien et al, 2017100 |
| Preventive medication: verapamil | $46.16 | $192.00 | Normal | Ontario Drug Beneft formulary for unit costs99; frequency based on treatment guidelines12 (80 to 240 mg BID) |
| Productivity loss (societal perspective only, scenario analysis) | $0 | $653.75 | Normal (hourly wage) | Calculated based on Ford et al, 2018,101 and average hourly wage in Ontario102 |
Abbreviation: BID, twice a day.
All costs are expressed in 2023 CAD. All parameters were modelled as fixed (i.e., no assigned distributions).
Abbreviations: ECG, electrocardiogram; NICE, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.