Economic
evaluation has been recently carried out using real-world data instead of
clinical trial data. Akutagawa et al. conducted a cost-outcome description based
on a nationwide registry providing information on hepatitis treatment in Japan
and estimated the utility of the analysis. Specifically, they evaluated the
cost-outcome description of a 48-week peginterferon plus ribavirin treatment in
patients infected by the hepatitis C virus. Simulations were based on a Markov
model. After setting the cohorts using data from the registry, and assuming a
societal perspective for the calculation of costs, they estimated 2.5 million
JPY per quality-adjusted
life years (QALY) for treatments over a 10-year period. They analyzed
patients’ statistics at each disease stage using their registry data and
calculated the costs. Their results reflect more closely a real-world clinical
situation as compared to the widely used clinical trial method.