Background: The recent introduction of drug-eluting stents (DES) has shown, in randomized controlled trials, to reduce the incidence of restenosis as compared to bare metal stents (BMS). Since their cost is considerably higher than that of BMS, the study assessed the economic impact of the adoption of this new therapy in the Sicilian clinical practice.
Methods: An economic evaluation was carried out by means of a linear decision model developed in Excel that simulated and compared costs and clinical pathway, within 1 year of the intervention, of hypothetical groups of patients with de novo lesions undergoing angioplasty with DES or BMS. Clinical data were obtained from the available literature and adapted to the Sicilian reality, using data from an original survey conducted in 7 local cath labs. The survey collected information on the anatomical case-mix of the population treated, the average number of stents used in the various procedures and the methods of treatment for in-stent restenosis.
Results: Compared to BMS, DES allows to avoid, on average, 11.8 revascularizations out of 100 patients over a period of 1 year, but requires to bear an incremental net cost of Euro 931 for the annual treatment of each patient. The cost-benefit ratio is more favorable for those categories of patients/lesions in which the risk of in-stent restenosis is higher and, at the same time, the number of stents implanted per procedure is lower (single-vessel diabetics and small vessels).
Conclusions: The results of the study show how, within the scope of a policy that has tended more and more to rationalize the use of available health resources, the use of the expensive DES is not justified from an economic point of view in groups of patients and types of lesions in which a BMS is also associated with a lower likelihood of revascularization. Therefore, the study provides a starting point for consideration by hospital centers, suggesting the use of a mixture of DES for the treatment of lesions/patients at the highest risk of restenosis and BMS for the treatment of lesions/patients at lower risk of re-intervention.