Pharmacy, Health Sciences & Exercise Science
Cost-Benefit Analysis of Use of Tamsulosin vs. Terazosin
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Location
Indianapolis, IN
Subject Area
Pharmacy, Health Sciences & Exercise Science
Start Date
10-4-2015 8:45 AM
End Date
10-4-2015 10:00 AM
Sponsor
Chad Knoderer, Melanie Kuester (Butler University)
Description
Introduction: Benign prostate hyperplasia is a common ailment in the male elderly population and can significantly impair patients' quality of life. Two of the most common medications for this disease are selective and non-selective alpha1 blockers. The most commonly observed adverse event for both is dizziness which leads to increased risk for falls and associated health care costs. The objective of this study is to determine whether use of tamsulosin results in lower incidence of adverse events and is a more cost effective agent than terazosin.
Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of patients within the Veterans Administration (VA). Six hundred patients who received a prescription for tamsulosin and/or terazosin between January 1, 2011 and June 30, 2013 were examined to determine rate of falls, cost associated with any injury resulting from a fall, and correlation of the two. Cost of common injuries resulting from falls were assigned a monetary value based on the estimated health care costs of treatment, then will be used to determine a cost efficient treatment option for BPH within the VA population.
Results: Three hundred patients were included in both the tamsulosin and terazosin arms of the study to total 600 patients. Fifty-three of the 300 (17.7%) in the terazosin arm experienced an event, while this occurred only 49 of the 300 (16.3%) in the tamsulosin arm. Thirty-eight of the events associated with the terazosin group resulted in cost to the VA, while only 24 of the events associated with the tamsulosin incurred a cost to the VA. The number of cost events associated with the terazosin arm was shown to be statistically more than that of the tamsulosin arm (p-value = 0.06). An extrapolation of the data demonstrated a cost avoidance ratio of 0.164 associated with tamsulosin compared to 0.026 with terazosin.
Conclusion: The extrapolated overall cost avoidance ratio was more favorable with the tamsulosin group than terazosin group. The results demonstrate that tamsulosin may be a cost effective alternative to terazosin.
Cost-Benefit Analysis of Use of Tamsulosin vs. Terazosin
Indianapolis, IN
Introduction: Benign prostate hyperplasia is a common ailment in the male elderly population and can significantly impair patients' quality of life. Two of the most common medications for this disease are selective and non-selective alpha1 blockers. The most commonly observed adverse event for both is dizziness which leads to increased risk for falls and associated health care costs. The objective of this study is to determine whether use of tamsulosin results in lower incidence of adverse events and is a more cost effective agent than terazosin.
Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of patients within the Veterans Administration (VA). Six hundred patients who received a prescription for tamsulosin and/or terazosin between January 1, 2011 and June 30, 2013 were examined to determine rate of falls, cost associated with any injury resulting from a fall, and correlation of the two. Cost of common injuries resulting from falls were assigned a monetary value based on the estimated health care costs of treatment, then will be used to determine a cost efficient treatment option for BPH within the VA population.
Results: Three hundred patients were included in both the tamsulosin and terazosin arms of the study to total 600 patients. Fifty-three of the 300 (17.7%) in the terazosin arm experienced an event, while this occurred only 49 of the 300 (16.3%) in the tamsulosin arm. Thirty-eight of the events associated with the terazosin group resulted in cost to the VA, while only 24 of the events associated with the tamsulosin incurred a cost to the VA. The number of cost events associated with the terazosin arm was shown to be statistically more than that of the tamsulosin arm (p-value = 0.06). An extrapolation of the data demonstrated a cost avoidance ratio of 0.164 associated with tamsulosin compared to 0.026 with terazosin.
Conclusion: The extrapolated overall cost avoidance ratio was more favorable with the tamsulosin group than terazosin group. The results demonstrate that tamsulosin may be a cost effective alternative to terazosin.