Pharmacoeconomic justification of the choice of specific therapy schemes for the treatment of adult patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension

Abstract

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive and debilitating disease that causes the blood vessels in the lungs to thicken and narrow, forcing the heart to pump blood through the lungs at high pressure. In recent years, a significant number of therapies have become available for the treatment of PAH. Pharmacoeconomic justification of the choice of specific pharmacotherapy requires weighing the effectiveness and cost of treatment of this disease and is extremely relevant. Given the limited budget for health care, the choice of drugs (drugs) should be based not only on the comparative clinical effectiveness of treatment, but also on the comparative cost-effectiveness, which ensures the maximum effectiveness of providing pharmaceutical care to patients with PAH. PAH is a life-threatening orphan disease with a poor prognosis, and in many cases a combination of specific drugs may be required regardless of their cost. Like patient survival, quality of life is the main factor in the pharmacoeconomic justification of the choice of specific drugs for the treatment of PAH. The objective of the paper – pharmacoeconomic research of specific therapy for the treatment of PAH and determination of «cost–utility», «quality of life», «QALY» indicators in various approaches to pharmacotherapy of PAH. The object of the study was the results of the analysis of pharmacotherapy schemes of patients with PAH in accordance with a certain functional class. Analytical, documentary, informational, graphic and mathematical research methods were used during the research. Our pharmacoeconomic analysis of the pharmacotherapy of patients with PAH who were in a certain functional class (FC) showed that for patients with FC II and FC III PAH, endothelin receptor antagonists (APE) or the combination of APE with prostaglandins was the least expensive treatment strategy and gave the largest average QALYs. At the same time, the obtained research results are the basis for the development of differential financing of PAH therapy for patients with different FCs. It should be noted that the study conducted by us is the first in Ukraine and can be the basis for further studies, strengthened by additional information and direct measurement of the impact of specific treatment on the quality of life of patients with the help of specially developed Ukrainian questionnaires, which can be used to estimate the increase in the QALY indicator during treatment, which will give a better idea about the effectiveness of these treatment methods.