Cost-effectiveness and impact of five different point of care strategies to preserve last line treatment for gonorrhoea

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has developed to every class of antibiotic used for the treatment of gonorrhoea – and in recent years several multi-drug resistant strains of gonorrhoea have been reported in the UK and elsewhere. Once the prevalence of resistance to a first-line treatment reaches 5%, an alternative drug is selected as first-line treatment. In the UK, as with many other countries, ceftriaxone is the current first-line treatment for gonorrhoea. There are few alternative treatments available should ceftriaxone resistance become widespread and therefore steps are being taken to preserve the effectiveness of ceftriaxone by avoiding its use for infections that could be treated using other antibiotics.

Aquarius was commissioned by the Applied Diagnostic Research and Evaluation Unit (ADREU) at St. Georges London to compare the cost and effectiveness of five different strategies to test for antibiotic susceptibility in NG infections. We developed a decision tree model to assess how point-of-care (POC) testing could be used to diagnose gonorrhoea and at the same time test for antibody susceptibility, allowing the use of previously abandoned antibiotics for the majority of patients, thereby sparing ceftriaxone use.

The results of the model showed that all five strategies cost more than the current strategy of not testing for AMR. The paper concludes that AMR POC testing may enable improved antibiotic stewardship but would require investment into the health system.

The article was published in October in Eurosurveillance and is available free online [link].

Harding-Esch EM, Huntington SE, Harvey MJ, Weston G, Broad CE, Adams EJ, et al. Antimicrobial resistance point-of-care testing for gonorrhoea treatment regimens: cost-effectiveness and impact on ceftriaxone use of five hypothetical strategies compared with standard care in England sexual health clinics. Eurosurveillance [Internet]. 2020;25(43). Available from: https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.43.1900402

Modelling cost-effectiveness of multipathogen POC tests for sexually transmitted infections

In this BMJ Open article, we report on health economic modelling results that compare three possible strategies for point-of-care (POC) sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing with the current practice of microscopy and lab-based testing.  Results showed that testing for STIs with either a dual, triple or quadruple POC test provided more patient benefit than current practice but may cost more. The quadruple POC test was the least expensive POC strategy relative to standard care – with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of £36,585 per quality adjusted life years gained, when taking the clinic’s perspective. When taking the commissioners’ perspective, who pay for the services delivered through tariffs, over £26 million in savings could be achieved using the 4-bug test, mainly because patients were treated appropriately on their first testing visit rather than having to re-attend.

 

PublicationHuntington SE, Burns RM, Harding-Esch E, et al.  ‘Modelling-based evaluation of the costs, benefits and cost-effectiveness of multipathogen point-of-care tests for sexually transmitted infections in symptomatic genitourinary medicine clinic attendees.’ BMJ Open 2018;8:e020394. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020394

To request a copy of the published article, please email caroline.dombrowski@aquariusph.com.

Assessing the impact of point-of-care testing for influenza and respiratory syncytial virus in children admitted to hospital

We assessed the impact and economic benefits of using a point-of-care (POC) assay instead of standard laboratory testing to detect influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in children and infants admitted to hospital . This real-world evaluation was conducted in two subsequent ‘flu seasons at the Evelina Children’s Hospital in London. Results showed that following the introduction of the POC testing, children with influenza were more likely to receive oseltamivir treatment, the antiviral recommended for influenza. Although there was no statistically significant reduction in the average length of hospital admission or in the number of antibiotics prescribed, there was a reduction in laboratory costs and in reimbursement charges for hospital admissions suggesting that use of the POC assay resulted in fewer procedures and interventions performed during admissions.

Publication Vecino-Ortiz AI, Goldenberg SD, Douthwaite ST, et al. Impact of a multiplex PCR point-of-care test for influenza A/B and respiratory syncytial virus on an acute pediatric hospital ward. Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease,  Volume 91, Issue 4, August 2018, Pages 331-335. 

 

To request a copy of the published article, please email caroline.dombrowski@aquariusph.com.

 

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Exploring HCV eradication through diagnosis and treatment strategies

Eradicating HCV

The World Health Organization aims to eradicate hepatitis C virus (HCV) by 2030. To achieve this, improved HCV diagnosis and treatment coverage are required. We explored the relationship between diagnosis and treatment in the next 5 years in Italy, France, and the UK to understand how to achieve the most benefit.

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Harvey MJ, Cheng C-Y, Leone E, et al. Exploring HCV eradication through diagnosis and treatment strategies. EASL Monothematic Conference, Striving Towards the Elimination of HCV Infection. 2-3 February 2018, Berlin, Germany.

 

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Cost-effectiveness of antimicrobial resistance point-of-care testing for optimising gonorrhoea treatment

In July, Emma Harding-Esch spoke at the STI and HIV World Congress in Rio on how to best manage the increasing challenge of anti-microbial resistance (AMR). The research she presented was a collaboration between Aquarius Population Health and ADREU St. Georges.  In recent years, there has been an increase in resistance to first-line therapies used to treat STIs such as gonorrhoea. The Aquarius team built a decision tree model to assess the cost-effectiveness of standard care compared to several hypothetical rapid point-of-care tests (POCT) for antibiotic susceptibility. The model simulated a cohort of sexual health clinic attendees. The results showed that while standard care is the cheapest option, AMR POCTs may be cost-effective and maximise the number of effective agents in treatment regimens, providing long-term benefits in some scenarios.

Harding-Esch EM, Huntington SE, Harvey MJ, et al. Cost-effectiveness of antimicrobial resistance point-of-care testing for optimising the treatment of gonorrhoea STI & HIV World Congress. 9-12 July 2017. Rio de Janiero, Brazil.

 

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Point-of-care tests for infectious diseases: Barriers to implementation across three London teaching hospitals

Our paper explores results of the acceptability and implementation issues of point of care tests (POCTs) in paediatric patients in three south London hospitals. Overall, we found that having a test result was thought to improve bed management and cohorting sick patients appropriately, reassure parents about their child’s condition, reduce hospital transmission, and rationalise further tests and treatment. Concerns focused on confidence about the test’s performance – particularly around false negatives not receiving proper management, how to manage discrepant results (i.e. the laboratory assay gave a different answer to the POCT), and training enough staff to run the test at the point of care.

Publication

Bustinduy AL, Jeyaratnam D, Adams EJ, et al. CLAHRC South London; Paediatric Infection Network. Point-of-care tests for infectious diseases: Barriers to implementation across three London teaching hospitals. Acta Paediatrica,  April 2017. DOI: 10.1111/apa.13867

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Estimating the clinical impact and costs of implementing a point of care test for influenza A/B and respiratory syncytial virus on an acute paediatric hospital inpatient ward

We explored the impact of introducing a high performance point of care test (POCT) for influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) on an acute paediatric ward of a large London hospital during influenza season compared to standard care of using a laboratory-based test. We estimated the outcomes before and after implementing a POCT (Enigma® MiniLab™ FluAB-RSV test) for paediatric patients admitted to an acute respiratory ward in the 2013/14 and 2014/15 respiratory seasons. There was a significant reduction in reimbursement charges for influenza- and RSV-negative patients, for the full hospital stay and the period on the acute paediatric ward after implementing the POCT, however, these differences disappeared when controlling for top-up service charges. More appropriate treatment of patients with influenza occurred after implementing the POCT (40% versus 13% received oseltamivir, p=0.02). There was no difference in length of stay between the two periods. Findings indicate cost savings for commissioners and hospitals, even without a reduction in the length of stay.

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Vecino-Ortiz AI, Glover RE, Douthwaite ST, et al. Estimating the clinical impact and costs of implementing a point of care test for influenza A/B and respiratory syncytial virus on an acute paediatric hospital inpatient ward. Society for Medical Decision Making. 12-14 June 2016. London, UK.

 

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A rapid influenza test in hospitals could avoid unnecessary paediatric isolation bed days and save costs

point-of-care tests paediatrics

We created a decision tree to estimate the unnecessary isolation days averted by early diagnosis of false positive patients with a point of care test for influenza compared to presumptive isolation and standard laboratory testing (12 versus 2 hours’ time to results). Assuming a 7% prevalence of influenza in a cohort of 300 patients with suspected influenza, average hospital stay of 3 days, and the cost of an isolation bed being 10% more than a ward bed, using a point of care test could avert 80-95% of the unnecessary isolation days, with an associated estimated cost savings of roughly £7000-£9000, depending on if they test were implemented on the ward or in A&E, respectively. Point of care tests could improve bed management and reduce unnecessary isolation days and the associated costs, and reduce hospital transmission of infection.

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Vecino-Ortiz AI, Glover RE, Rabe AJ, et al. A rapid influenza test in hospitals could avoid unnecessary paediatric isolation bed days and save cost. Society for Medical Decision Making. 12-14 June 2016. London, UK.

 

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Performance of a novel point-of-care molecular assay for the detection of Influenza A, B and RSV in children

Point of Care Flu Test

We assessed the performance of the new point-of-care Enigma® MiniLab™ assay for Influenza A, B and RSV compared to a centralised laboratory respiratory virus panel. The positive per cent agreement was >95% for Influenza B and RSV but was 79.2% (95% CI 57.8-92.9%) for Influenza A, and the negative per cent agreement was >95% for Influenza A and B, and 94.5% (95% CI 91.9-96.4%) for RSV. The turnaround time for the laboratory respiratory virus panel was 24 hours, compared to ~90 minutes for the Enigma® MiniLab™ test.

Publication
Douthwaite ST, Walker C, Adams EJ, et al. Performance of a novel point-of-care molecular assay for the detection of Influenza A, B and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (Enigma® MiniLab™) in children with acute respiratory infection. JCM, online first 11 Nov 2015. doi: 10.1128/JCM.02887-15

 

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