Prescription Patterns and Cost Effectiveness of Antiglaucoma Drugs in a Tertiary Hospital in Nigeria

Abstract

This study sought to determine the prescribing patterns and designed a treatment guideline for primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) that is more cost-effective from a third-party payer’s perspective than the current practice based on real-world evidence. A retrospective descriptive study on eighty patients on POAG therapy for at least 3 months was carried out. A Stochastic Monte Carlo simulation model based on the outcome and cost was constructed with the aid of Vanguard studio 5.0. The input data were the prices of drugs and the proportion of the patient’s intraocular pressure outcome per month. Drug prices were entered as a uniform distribution while the outcome values were fixed. Sensitivity analysis was conducted by varying the input data by ±50%. The frequency of monitoring of patients with intraocular pressure was low (26.76%). The commonly prescribed drugs were the beta-blockers and carbonic anhydrase inhibitors. The cost per patient per annum was estimated at ($490.90) whereas the proposed guideline that results in the improved outcome will cost $50.19. Therefore, cost savings will be obtained by the proposed guideline for POAG per patient per annum.

Key words: Cost-effectiveness, antiglaucoma, treatment guideline