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Published on: October 20, 2016
Cost-Effectiveness of a Proteomic Test for Preterm Birth Prediction
Michael Grabner1, Julja Burchard2, Chi Nguyen3
1Scientific Affairs, HealthCore, Inc., Wilmington, DE, USA.
Insights
A new blood test strategy for preterm birth (PTB) screening and treatment significantly reduces PTB rates and healthcare costs. This approach offers substantial savings and improved outcomes for pregnant women and infants.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive Health
- Maternal-Fetal Medicine
- Health Economics
Background:
- Preterm birth (PTB) is a major cause of infant mortality and morbidity, associated with significant healthcare expenditures.
- Current methods for identifying PTB risk are insufficient, failing to detect a majority of cases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a novel risk-screening-and-treat strategy for PTB prevention in commercially insured pregnant women.
- The strategy involves a prognostic blood test (PreTRM®) and targeted treatment for high-risk individuals.
Main Methods:
- A cost-effectiveness model using a decision-tree/Markov approach from a US payer perspective.
- Data from >40,000 mother-infant pairs were used to estimate PTB rates and costs.
- Model inputs for test performance and treatment effectiveness were derived from published literature.
Main Results:
- The risk-screening-and-treat strategy demonstrated cost-effectiveness, reducing PTBs by 20% (870 fewer) and saving $54 million.
- Projected reductions include 10% in neonatal intensive care admissions and 33% in very preterm births (<32 weeks).
- Treatment effectiveness was the primary driver of cost-effectiveness outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Implementing a prognostic PTB test with evidence-based treatment is cost-effective.
- This strategy reduces overall healthcare costs while preventing preterm births and their adverse consequences.
Background:
Preterm birth (PTB) carries increased risk of short- and long-term health problems as well as higher healthcare costs. Current strategies using clinically accepted maternal risk factors (prior PTB, short cervix) can only identify a minority of singleton PTBs.
Objective:
We modeled the cost-effectiveness of a risk-screening-and-treat strategy versus usual care for commercially insured pregnant US women without clinically accepted PTB risk factors. The risk-screening-and-treat strategy included use of a novel PTB prognostic blood test (PreTRM®) in the 19th-20th week of pregnancy, followed by treatment with a combined regimen of multi-component high-intensity-case-management and pharmacologic interventions for the remainder of the pregnancy for women assessed as higher-risk by the test, and usual care in women without higher risk.
Methods:
We built a cost-effectiveness model using a combined decision-tree/Markov approach and a US payer perspective. We modeled 1-week cycles of pregnancy from week 19 to birth (preterm or term) and assessed costs throughout the pregnancy, and further to 12-months post-delivery in mothers and 30-months in infants. PTB rates and costs were based on >40,000 mothers and infants from the HealthCore Integrated Research Database® with birth events in 2016. Estimates of test performance, treatment effectiveness, and other model inputs were derived from published literature.
Results:
In the base case, the risk-screening-and-treat strategy dominated usual care with an estimated 870 fewer PTBs (20% reduction) and $54 million less in total cost ($863 net savings per pregnant woman). Reductions were projected for neonatal intensive care admissions (10%), overall length-of-stay (7%), and births <32 weeks (33%). Treatment effectiveness had the strongest influence on cost-effectiveness estimates. The risk-screening-and-treat strategy remained dominant in the majority of probabilistic sensitivity analysis simulations and model scenarios.
Conclusion:
Use of a novel prognostic test during pregnancy to identify women at risk of PTB combined with evidence-based treatment is estimated to reduce total costs while preventing PTBs and their consequences.
