Custo efetividade do uso do Peguinterferon alfa 2a combinado com Ribavirina no tratamento de respondedores virológicos lentos coinfectados com VHC/HIV

Abstract

Worldwide, hepatitis caused by viral infections has been a major concern for public health because of its chronicity, asymptomatic course and its ability to determine the loss of liver function. With the widespread use of antiretroviral drugs, liver disease related to infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) contributed to a radical change in the natural history of infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). No one knows for sure the weight of coinfection HCV/HIV in Brazil, but evidence suggests that, regardless of geographic region, these individuals have greater difficulty in eliminating HCV compared to monoinfected. In the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), the standard antiviral treatment for patients infected with genotype 1 HCV and HIV is the association of pegylated interferon with ribavirin. Regarding the treatment period and which individuals should treat the two most recent protocols have disagreements. The most current protocol calls for treatment of early responders individuals added to slow responders. Since the guideline immediately preceding the 12th week excludes individuals who do not respond completely. Based on this difference, this study aimed to evaluate the costeffectiveness of HCV treatment in individuals with the genotype 1 coinfected with HIV, antiviral-naïve, non-cirrhotic and immunologically stable, undergoing antiviral treatment rules established by two most recent therapeutic guidelines directed to attend by SUS. To this evaluation, was developed a mathematical model of decision, based on Markov chains, simulating the progression of liver disease under treatment and no treatment. It was accompanied by a hypothetical cohort of thousand men individuals, more than 40 years. Was adopted the perspective of the Brazilian Unified Health System, time horizon of 30 years and a discount rate of 5% for the costs and for clinical consequences. The extension of treatment to slow responders provided an increase of 0.28 years of quality-adjusted life (QALY), 7% survival rate and an increase of 60% in the number of individuals who eliminated HCV. Besides the expected benefits in efficacy, the slow viral responders inclusion proved to be a costeffective strategy to achieve an incremental cost-effectiveness of BRL 44,171.00/QALY, value below of acceptability threshold proposed by the World Health Organization (BRL 63,756.00/QALY). Sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the potentials uncertainties in the model are unable to alter the final result, thus demonstrating the robustness of the analysis. The Inclusion of HCV/HIV co-infected individuals slow virologic responders to treatment protocol, is presented from the point of pharmacoeconomic view, as a strategy to cost-effectiveness favorable for the Brazilian Health System. Its adoption is perfectly compatible with the system perspective, returning better health outcomes with costs below an acceptable budget cap, and the society, to avoid a greater extent, complications and hospitalizations when compared to non-inclusion.