Economic evaluation of postdischarge malaria chemoprevention in preschool children treated for severe anaemia in Malawi, Kenya, and Uganda: A cost-effectiveness analysis

Document Type

Article

Department

Paediatrics and Child Health (East Africa)

Abstract

Background: Children hospitalised with severe anaemia in malaria-endemic areas are at a high risk of dying or being readmitted within six months of discharge. A trial in Kenya and Uganda showed that three months of postdischarge malaria chemoprevention (PDMC) with monthly dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP) substantially reduced this risk. The World Health Organization recently included PDMC in its malaria chemoprevention guidelines. We conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis of community-based PDMC delivery (supplying all three PDMC-DP courses to caregivers at discharge to administer at home), facility-based PDMC delivery (monthly dispensing of PDMC-DP at the hospital), and the standard of care (no PDMC).

Methods: We combined data from two recently completed trials; one placebo-controlled trial in Kenya and Uganda collecting efficacy data (May 6, 2016 until November 15, 2018; n=1049), and one delivery mechanism trial from Malawi collecting adherence data (March 24, 2016 until October 3, 2018; n=375). Cost data were collected alongside both trials. Three Markov decision models, one each for Malawi, Kenya, and Uganda, were used to compute incremental cost-effectiveness ratios expressed as costs per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to account for uncertainty.

Findings: Both PDMC strategies were cost-saving in each country, meaning less costly and more effective in increasing health-adjusted life expectancy than the standard of care. The estimated incremental cost savings for community-based PDMC compared to the standard of care were US$ 22¢10 (Malawi), 38¢52 (Kenya), and 26¢23 (Uganda) per child treated. The incremental effectiveness gain using either PDMC strategy varied between 0¢3 and 0¢4 QALYs. Community-based PDMC was less costly and more effective than facility-based PDMC. These results remained robust in sensitivity analyses.

Interpretation: PDMC under implementation conditions is cost-saving. Caregivers receiving PDMC at discharge is a cost-effective delivery strategy for implementation in malaria-endemic southeastern African settings.

Comments

This work was published before the author joined Aga Khan University.

Publication (Name of Journal)

EClinicalMedicine

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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