Costs of opioid therapy for chronic nonmalignant pain in Germany: an economic model comparing transdermal fentanyl (Durogesic) with controlled-release morphine

Lukas Radbruch (), K. Lehmann, H.-H. Gockel, D. Neighbors and G. Nuyts

The European Journal of Health Economics, 2002, vol. 3, issue 2, 119 pages

Abstract: The fentanyl transdermal therapeutic system (fentanyl-TTS;Durogesic) has a distinct route of administration and safety profile compared with other opioids used in the treatment of moderate to severe pain.These aspects are likely to have an impact on patient acceptance and functioning as well as efficacy. We compared the cost-utility of fentanyl-TTS and controlled-release morphine (cr-morphine) in the treatment of moderate to severe nonmalignant pain in outpatients in Germany. A 1-year, three-phased decisionanalytic model was constructed, incorporating estimates of a variety of aspects of pain control.Use of fentanyl-TTS was predicted to incur higher costs than cr-morphine over 1 year of treatment (DM 6950 vs.DM 6186, respectively) but was associated with a higher number of quality-adjusted life days (234 vs. 216, respectively), thus achieving an incremental cost-utility ratio of DM 15,960 per quality-adjusted life-year gained.The results of the decision-analytic model support the use of fentanyl-TTS as a favorable cost-effective option for the treatment of moderate to severe nonmalignant pain. Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2002

Keywords: Opioids; Innovation; Transdermal fentanyl; Controlled-release morphine; Economic model; Quality-adjusted life-years (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2002
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10198-002-0097-6

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