Electroacupuncture with Usual Care for Patients with Non-Acute Pain after Back Surgery: Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Alongside a Randomized Controlled Trial

NamKwen Kim, Kyung-Min Shin, Eun-Sung Seo, Minjung Park and Hye-Yoon Lee
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NamKwen Kim: Center for Comparative Effectiveness Research and Economic Evaluation in Korean Medicine, Pusan National University and School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University, Yangsan 50612, Korea
Kyung-Min Shin: Clinical Medicine Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon 34054, Korea
Eun-Sung Seo: Food Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Minjung Park: Guideline Center for Korean Medicine, National Institute for Korean Medicine Development, Seoul 04554, Korea
Hye-Yoon Lee: School of Korean Medicine, Pusan National University, Yangsan 50612, Korea

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 12, 1-13

Abstract: Electroacupuncture (EA) is used to treat pain after back surgery. Although this treatment is covered by national health insurance in Korea, evidence supporting its cost-effectiveness and contribution to the sustainability of the national health care system has yet to be published. Therefore, an economic evaluation, alongside a clinical trial, was conducted to estimate the cost-effectiveness of EA and usual care (UC) versus UC alone to treat non-acute low back pain (LBP). In total, 108 patients were recruited and randomly assigned to treatment groups; 106 were included in the final cost utility analysis. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of EA plus UC was estimated as 7,048,602 Korean Rate Won (KRW) per quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) from the societal perspective (SP). If the national threshold was KRW 30 million per QALY, the cost-effectiveness probability of EA plus UC was an estimated 85.9%; and, if the national threshold was over KRW 42,496,372 per QALY, the cost-effectiveness probability would be over 95% percent statistical significance. Based on these results, EA plus UC combination therapy for patients with non-acute LBP may be cost-effective from a societal perspective in Korea.

Keywords: non-acute low back pain; failed back surgery; electroacupuncture; economic evaluation; costs; quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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