Cost-effectiveness of using amyloid positron emission tomography in individuals with mild cognitive impairment

Amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) makes it possible to diagnose Alzheimer's disease (AD) in its prodromal phase including mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of including amyloid-PET for assessing individuals with MCI.

The target population was 60-year-old patients who were diagnosed with MCI. We constructed a Markov model for the natural history of AD with the amyloid positivity (AP). Because amyloid-PET can detect the AP MCI state, AD detection can be made faster by reducing the follow-up interval for a high-risk group. The health outcomes were evaluated in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and the final results of cost-effectiveness analysis were presented in the form of the Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio (ICER). To handle parameter uncertainties, one-way sensitivity analyses for various variables were performed.

Our model showed that amyloid-PET increased QALYs by 0.003 in individuals with MCI. The estimated additional costs for adopting amyloid-PET amounted to a total of 1250 USD per patient when compared with the cost when amyloid-PET is not adopted. The ICER was 3,71,545 USD per QALY. According to the sensitivity analyses, treatment effect of Donepezil and virtual intervention effect in MCI state were the most influential factors.

In our model, using amyloid-PET at the MCI stage was not cost-effective. Future advances in management of cognitive impairment would enhance QALYs, and consequently improve cost-effectiveness.