Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of alteplase in patients with acute myocardial infarction in the French setting.

On the basis of data collected from general hospital centres in France on 704 patients initially presenting with acute myocardial infarction, the mean 1-year cost of treatment was calculated to be 52,160 French francs (F) per patient (1994 values). This was independent of whether the patient received thrombolysis, and included all costs associated with initial hospitalisation including a stay in intensive care, cardiology or medical units, as well as rehospitalisations, revascularisation procedures and any drugs prescribed. When only those patients who survived the initial hospitalisation were considered, the mean cost of treatment was F58,184 per patient. Among patients who received thrombolysis during their initial hospitalisation, the respective mean 1-year costs were F74,684 per patient for those treated with alteplase and F64,866 per patient for those treated with streptokinase (p = 0.09). This nonsignificant difference can be explained by the higher cost of alteplase relative to that of streptokinase, the lower mortality rate associated with alteplase during the initial hospitalisation period (9.2% versus 10.6%) and the difference in the percentage of additional revascularisations required in the 2 treatment groups (32.8% versus 42.3%). Combining the pharmacoeconomic data collected in the French general hospital setting with incremental patient survival data stemming from the Global Utilisation of Streptokinase and Tissue Plasminogen Activator for Occluded Coronary Arteries (GUSTO) trial showed that the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of alteplase versus streptokinase amounted to F70128 per life-year saved for the total group, and F52035 per life-year saved for those patients who survived the initial period of hospitalisation.