Cost-effectiveness of insulin pumps compared with multiple daily injections both provided with structured education for adults with type 1 diabetes

Abstract

Objectives To assess the long-term cost-effectiveness of insulin pumps and Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating (pumps+DAFNE) compared with multiple daily insulin injections and DAFNE (MDI+DAFNE) for adults with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in the UK.Methods We undertook a cost-utility analysis using the Sheffield Type 1 Diabetes Policy Model and data from the Relative Effectiveness of Pumps over Structured Education (REPOSE) trial to estimate the lifetime incidence of diabetic complications, intervention-based resource use and associated effects on costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). All economic analyses took a National Health Service and personal social services perspective and discounted costs and QALYs at 3.5% per annum. A probabilistic sensitivity analysis was performed on the base case. Further uncertainties in the cost of pumps and the evidence used to inform the model were explored using scenario analyses.Setting Eight diabetes centres in England and Scotland.Participants Adults with T1DM who were eligible to receive a structured education course and did not have a strong clinical indication or a preference for a pump.Intervention Pumps+DAFNE.Comparator MDI+DAFNE.Main outcome measures Incremental costs, incremental QALYs gained and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs).Results Compared with MDI+DAFNE, pumps+DAFNE was associated with an incremental discounted lifetime cost of +18 pound 853 (95% CI 6175 pound to 31 pound 645) and a gain in discounted lifetime QALYs of +0.13 (95% CI -0.70 to +0.96). The base case mean ICER was 142 pound 195 per QALY gained. The probability of pump+DAFNE being cost-effective using a cost-effectiveness threshold of 20 pound 000 per QALY gained was 14.0%. All scenario and subgroup analyses examined indicated that the ICER was unlikely to fall below 30 pound 000 per QALY gained.Conclusions Our analysis of the REPOSE data suggests that routine use of pumps in adults without an immediate clinical need for a pump, as identified by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, would not be cost-effective.