The Cost-Effectiveness of Preschool Peanut Oral Immunotherapy in the Real-World Setting.

BACKGROUND

Across North America, 1.4% to 4.5% of children and families live with peanut allergy (PA). Preschool peanut oral immunotherapy (POIT) has been shown to be safe and effective in the real-world setting.

OBJECTIVE

Evaluate the cost effectiveness of preschool POIT in North America.

METHODS

Markov cohort analyses and microsimulation was used to evaluate simulated preschool children with PA over an 80-year time horizon. Models incorporated the natural history of PA, comparing children treated with preschool POIT with those not receiving immunotherapy. Costs were expressed in U.S. and Canadian dollars.

RESULTS

A preschool POIT strategy was associated with cost savings while improving quality-adjusted life-years (QALY), dominating a nonimmunotherapy approach. Over the model horizon, when all costs (and effectiveness) of PA were included from a societal perspective, a POIT versus a non-POIT approach cost $82,514 (18.51 QALY) versus $84,367 (17.75 QALY) in the United States, and $40,111 (18.83 QALY) versus $53,848 (18.26 QALY) in Canada. In microsimulations, systemic reactions to POIT were less frequent than anaphylaxis from accidental exposure without POIT (United States: 3.59, SD 3.49 vs 19.53, SD 11.71; Canada: 3.63, SD 3.54 vs 4.56, SD 3.30), epinephrine use was reduced with POIT (United States: 5.85, SD 5.73 vs 9.76, SD 5.85; Canada: 0.34, SD 0.36 vs 0.53, SD 0.38), and fatalities were rare but lower in the POIT strategy (United States: 0.00005, SD 0.0071 vs 0.00015, SD 0.012; Canada: 0.00005, SD 0.0071 vs 0.00009, SD 0.0095).

CONCLUSIONS

Preschool POIT in a real-world setting improved health and economic outcomes in the United States and Canada.