Cost-Utility of Dialysis in Canada: Hemodialysis, Peritoneal Dialysis, and Nondialysis Treatment of Kidney Failure

Rationale & Objective The kidney failure population is growing, necessitating the expansion of dialysis programs. These programs are costly and require a substantial amount of health care resources. Tools that accurately forecast resource use can aid efficient allocation. The objective of this study is to describe the development of an economic simulation model that incorporates treatment history and detailed modality transitions for patients with kidney disease using real-world data to estimate associated costs, utility, and survival by initiating modality. Study Design Cost-utility model with microsimulation. Setting & Population Adult incident maintenance dialysis patients in Canada who initiated facility-based hemodialysis (HD) or home peritoneal dialysis (PD) between 2004 and 2013. Intervention HD and PD. Outcomes Costs (related to dialysis, transplantation, infections, and hospitalizations), survival, utility, and dialysis modality mix over time. Model, Perspective, & Timeframe The model took the perspective of the health care payer. Patients were followed up for 10 years from initiation of dialysis. Our cost-utility analysis compared the intervention with receiving no treatment. Results During a 10-year time horizon, the cost-utility ratio for all patients initiating dialysis was $103,779 per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) in comparison to no treatment. Patients who initiated with facility-based HD were treated at a cost-utility ratio of $104,880/QALY and patients who initiated with home PD were treated at a cost-utility ratio of $83,762/QALY. During this time horizon, the total mean cost and QALYs per patient were estimated at $350,774 ± $204,704 and 3.38 ± 2.05) QALYs respectively. Limitations The results do not include costs from the societal perspective. Rare patient trajectories were unable to be assessed. Conclusions This model demonstrates that patients who initiated dialysis with PD were treated more cost-effectively than those who initiated with HD during a 10-year time horizon.