A cost-effectiveness analysis of bladder management strategies in neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction after spinal cord injury: A publicly funded health care perspective.

STUDY DESIGN: Economic evaluation study.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the long-term cost-effectiveness of clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) compared with suprapubic catheters (SPC) and indwelling urethral catheters (UC) among individuals with neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (NLUTD) related to spinal cord injury (SCI) from a public healthcare perspective.

SETTING: University affiliated hospital in Montreal, Canada.

METHODS: A Markov model with Monte Carlo simulation was developed with a cycle length of 1 year and lifetime horizon to estimate the incremental cost per quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). Participants were assigned to treatment with either CIC or SPC or UC. Transition probabilities, efficacy data, and utility values were derived from literature and expert opinion. Costs were obtained from provincial health system and hospital data in Canadian Dollars. The primary outcome was cost per QALY. Probabilistic and one-way deterministic sensitivity analyses were performed.

RESULTS: CIC had a lifetime mean total cost of $ 29,161 for 20.91 QALYs. The model predicted that a 40-year-old person with SCI would gain an additional 1.77 QALYs and 1.72 discounted life-years gained if CIC were utilized instead of SPC at an incremental cost savings of $330. CIC confer 1.96 QALYs and 3 discounted life-years gained compared to UC with an incremental cost savings of $2496. A limitation of our analysis is the lack of direct long-term comparisons between different catheter modalities.

CONCLUSIONS: CIC appears to be a dominant and more economically attractive bladder management strategy for NLUTD compared with SPC and/or UC from the public payer perspective over a lifetime horizon.