BACKGROUND

People with stomas report a substantial negative impact of stomal effluent leaking outside the ostomy baseplate and subsequent complications in their professional and social lives, causing immense worry. However, many patients are not able to recognize leakages in a timely manner. We conducted a cost-effectiveness study to evaluate the impact of a digital leakage notification system (DLNS) to reduce leakages outside the baseplate (LOB) and worry about leakage for people with intestinal stomas from a UK National Health Service and Personal Social Services perspective.

METHODS

A Markov model for ostomy care was used to compare health-related quality of life and costs for adults with ileostomies or colostomies using UK standard of care ostomy products with the DLNS (intervention) or without the DLNS (comparator). The base case model used a 3-year time horizon with 1-week cycles and an annual 3.5% discounting of utilities and costs. Patients in all health states experience LOB events and/or worry about leakage as events associated with one-time utility decrements and costs of additional healthcare provider visits and ostomy product use. Probabilities of LOB (DLNS, 46.5%; comparator, 78.6%) and worry about leakage (DLNS, 39.1%; comparator, 78.6%) were based on clinical trial results. Peristomal skin complications were included in the model with the same probabilities of occurrence in the intervention and comparator arms. Sensitivity and scenario analyses were performed to test the robustness of the base case model assumptions.

RESULTS

In the base case analysis, the DLNS arm had 49.81 fewer LOB events per person than the comparator arm, resulting in 0.309 incremental quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and cost savings of British Pound Sterling (GBP) £1703 per person over 3 years (2023/2024 costing year). The DLNS arm had 56.98 fewer worry about leakage events per person, resulting in cost savings of £403 per person. Total costs and QALYs were £18,600 and 1.818 for the intervention arm, respectively, and £18,566 and 1.509 for the comparator arm. Overall, the DLNS provided 0.309 incremental QALYs at an incremental cost of £34 versus the comparator arm for an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of £110/QALY gained, well below a willingness-to-pay threshold of £20,000/QALY. Sensitivity analyses showed the DLNS was cost-effective in 97.6% of simulations.

CONCLUSIONS

This analysis suggests that the DLNS added to standard of care ostomy products is a cost-effective intervention to help prevent LOB events and reduce worry about leakage for people with stomas in the UK. Results of the present study suggest that timely awareness of leakage has a positive impact on the health-related quality of life of people with stomas and on the direct costs of stoma management in the UK.