Elise Cabout, Sébastien Eymere, Robert Launois, Sophie Séité, Véronique Delvigne, Charles Taïeb, Ziad Reguai
DOI: 10.2340/00015555-3873

Atopic dermatitis affects up to 20% of children and quite frequently persists in adulthood. Follow-up, treatment, and prevention of relapses have an impact on healthcare spending. The aim of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of different emollients prescribed for patients with atopic dermatitis in France. A 3-health state Markov model was designed, using French data for resource utilization, price and transition probabilities. The effects of the use of 5 different emollients (A, B, C, D, E) or no emollient were compared. The selected outcome was time (years) without flare-up (YWFU). The 5-year cost for emollient A is 1,575.64€, and the effectiveness is 3.89 YWFU. Strategy A is the most effective. Compared with treatment E, which was the least expensive emollient, A is more expensive (+481.84€) and more effective (0.082 YWFU). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio is 5,877.48€/YWFU. In conclusion, treating atopic dermatitis with emollients is a cost-effective strategy.

Emollients are recommended as treatment for atopic dermatitis. The model used in this study aims to assess the cost-effectiveness of different emollients in the French setting. The effectiveness of the treatment was evaluated by measuring the relapse-free period. When accounting for consultation, hospitalization, and medication costs, as well as productivity losses, the use of emollients was found to be cost-effective compared with no emollient. The strategy of using of no emollients was worse based on 2 of the 4 selected comparators: it is both more expensive and less effective. Dominant cost-effective strategies should be preferred by physicians.

Appendix S1