An Economic Analysis of a Peanut Oral Immunotherapy Study in Children.

BACKGROUND: Peanut oral immunotherapy (POIT) decreases the probability of accidental recurrent systemic reactions but reactions from the therapy itself are frequent.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this economic analysis was to characterize the potential cost-effectiveness of POIT.

METHODS: Cohort simulations were used to evaluate the effect of POIT for children with peanut allergy. A POIT with probiotic was used in the base-case simulation and long-term survival was modeled using age-adjusted mortality together with the risk of food allergy-associated mortality.

RESULTS: The incremental POIT cost-effectiveness ratio was $2142 per quality-adjusted life-year. A mean number of 12.3 (95% CI, 12.0-12.5) and 2.0 (95% CI, 1.9-2.1) allergic reactions occurred in the POIT and avoidance groups over 20 years of simulation, with 2.3 (95% CI, 2.2-2.3) episodes of anaphylaxis treated with intramuscular epinephrine per subject in the POIT group and 1.1 (95% CI, 1.0-1.2) episodes per subject in the avoidance group. In sensitivity analyses, POIT was associated with lower rates of anaphylaxis than strict avoidance when the annual rate of accidental allergic reactions in the peanut avoidance group exceeded 25%, the annual rate of anaphylaxis in the POIT group dropped below 6%, or the probability of sustained unresponsiveness after 4 years of POIT was 68% or greater.

CONCLUSIONS: POIT may be cost-effective in a long-term economic model. However, treated patients may experience a greater rate of peanut-associated allergic reactions and anaphylaxis. The analysis was sensitive to rates of accidental allergic reactions, therapy-associated adverse events, and likelihood of therapy-induced tolerance.