Table 3.
Cumulative mean costs (€) of ultraviolet B phototherapy for patients with psoriasis during trial
| End of phototherapy* | One year after the end of phototherapy* | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home therapy | Outpatient therapy | Difference (95% CI) | Home therapy | Outpatient therapy | Difference (95% CI) | ||
| Direct medical costs | |||||||
| Phototherapy | 577 | 275 | 301 (257 to 346) | 672 | 358 | 314 (204 to 424) | |
| Consultations with dermatologist | 69 | 92 | −23 (−41 to −6) | 237 | 226 | 11 (−52 to 74) | |
| Consultations with general practitioner | 5.0 | 2.6 | 2.4 (−1.2 to 6.1) | 15 | 20 | −6 (−29 to 18) | |
| Medication | 77 | 95 | −18(−53 to 17) | 228 | 261 | −33 (−168 to 103) | |
| Subtotal | 727 | 464 | 263 (199 to 326) | 1151 | 864 | 287 (50 to 523) | |
| Direct non-medical costs (travel costs)† | |||||||
| For phototherapy | 2.9 | 144 | −141 (−168 to −115) | 20 | 160 | −140 (−204 to −75) | |
| For visits to dermatologist | 5.3 | 8.6 | −3.3 (−5.4 to −1.1) | 21 | 20 | 0.36 (−9 to 9) | |
| For visits to general practitioner | 0.24 | 0.12 | 0.12 (−0.09 to 0.32) | 0.55 | 0.41 | 0.14 (−0.38 to 0.66) | |
| Subtotal | 8.5 | 153 | −144 (−171 to −117) | 42 | 181 | −139 (−211 to −68) | |
| Indirect non-medical costs | |||||||
| Absence from paid work | 0 | 0 | NA | 0 | 0 | NA | |
| Reduced productivity while at paid work | 65 | 135 | −70 (−180 to 40) | 80 | 103 | −23 (−123 to 76) | |
| Absence from unpaid work | 0 | 0 | NA | 0 | 0 | NA | |
| Subtotal | 65 | 135 | −70 (−180 to 40) | 80 | 103 | −23 (−123 to 76) | |
| Total costs | 801 | 752 | 48 (−78 to 174) | 1272 | 1148 | 124 (−155 to 403) | |
| Incremental cost effectiveness ratios (ICERs) | |||||||
| Cost per EQ-5D QALY gained | 9276/QALY | 4646/QALY | |||||
| Cost per SF-6D QALY gained | 7908/QALY | 7802/QALY | |||||
| Costs per day gained with a relevant treatment effect‡ | Dominated strategy | 20.50/day with a relevant treatment effect | |||||
* 196 patients were followed until the end of phototherapy (t=0 to t=3, mean duration 17.6 weeks), 105 patients were followed until one year after the end of phototherapy (t=0 to t=9, mean duration 68.4 weeks).
† Travel costs are inclusive of parking costs.
‡ ≥50% improvement in baseline severity of psoriasis.
EQ-5D = EuroQol questionnaire of health and quality of life outcomes. SF-6D = scoring algorithm from a subset of questions in the SF-36 health questionnaire. QALY = quality adjusted life years.