Summary
A decision-analytic model incorporating a Markov process to assess the incremental
cost and effectiveness of venous throm-boembolism (VTE) prevention strategies was
used. Modeling was carried out using a hypothetical cohort of medical patients at
risk of VTE.The model compared clinical effectiveness (primary and recurrent VTE,
death), safety (adverse events), and direct medical costs between patients receiving
enoxaparin prophylaxis, unfractionated heparin (UFH) prophylaxis, and no prophylaxis
(n=10,000 for each arm). Monte Carlo simulation was performed to identify changes
in inputs that would affect the results.The estimated incidence of VTE at two years
(including recurrentVTE) was 6.8% with enoxaparin prophylaxis, 7.9% with UFH prophylaxis,and
17.9% with no prophylaxis.Two-year mortality occurred in 15.7% of enoxaparin patients
and 16.0% of UFH patients, with the incidences of major bleeding in these groups being
0.7% and 1.2%, respectively. However, both enoxaparin and UFH prophylaxis were associated
with higher rates of major bleeds than no prophylaxis (0.6%).Total average costs per
patient were (US dollars) $1,264 (for enoxaparin prophylaxis, $1,585 for UFH prophylaxis,and
$2,245 for no prophylaxis).No realistic parameter changes resulted in enoxaparin prophylaxis
being more costly than UFH prophylaxis. For the healthcare payer, considering all
direct medical costs associated with VTE up to two years after an admission for acute
illness, prophylaxis with enoxaparin was more effective and less costly than UFH.
This identifies enoxaparin as a potentially favorable VTE prophylaxis regimen compared
with UFH and no prophylaxis in at-risk medical patients
Keywords
Medical costs - venous thromboembolism - prophylaxis