A Systematic Review of the Cost-Effectiveness of Long-Term Mechanical Circulatory Support

Cardiogenic Shock Challenges and Priorities: A Clinician Survey

BACKGROUND

Cardiogenic shock (CS) is common and survival outcomes have not substantially improved. Australia's geography presents unique challenges in the management of CS. The challenges and research priorities for clinicians pertaining to CS identification and management have yet to be described.

METHOD

We used an exploratory sequential mixed methods design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 clinicians (medical and nursing) to identify themes for quantitative evaluation. A total of 143 clinicians undertook quantitative evaluation through online survey. The interviews and surveys addressed current understanding of CS, status of cardiogenic systems and future research priorities.

RESULTS

There were 143 respondents: 16 (11%) emergency, cardiology 22 (16%), 37 (26%) intensive care, 54 (38%) nursing. In total, 107 (75%) believe CS is under-recognised. Thirteen (13; 9%) of respondents indicated their hospital had existing CS teams, all from metropolitan hospitals, and 40% thought additional access to mechanical circulatory support devices was required. Five (5; 11%) non-tertiary hospital respondents had not experienced a delay in transfer of a patient in CS. All respondents felt additional research, particularly into the management of CS, was required.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinicians report that CS is under-recognised and further research into CS management is required. Access to specialised CS services is still an issue and CS protocolised pathways may be of value.

Hemolytic Performance in Two Generations of the Sputnik Left Ventricular Assist Device: A Combined Numerical and Experimental Study

Background: Currently, left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are a successful surgical treatment for patients with end-stage heart failure on the waiting list or with contraindicated heart transplantation. In Russia, Sputnik 1 LVAD was also successfully introduced into clinical practice as a bridge-to-transplant and a destination therapy device. Development of Sputnik 2 LVAD was aimed at miniaturization to reduce invasiveness, optimize hemocompatibility, and improve versatility for patients of various sizes. Methods: We compared hemolysis level in flow path of the Sputnik LVADs and investigated design aspects influencing other types of blood damage, using predictions of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and experimental assessment. The investigated operating point was a flow rate of 5 L/min and a pressure head of 100 mm Hg at an impeller rotational speed of 9100 min⁻¹. Results: Mean hemolysis indices predicted with CFD were 0.0090% in the Sputnik 1 and 0.0023% in the Sputnik 2. Averaged values of normalized index of hemolysis obtained experimentally for the Sputnik 1 and the Sputnik 2 were 0.011 ± 0.003 g/100 L and 0.004 ± 0.002 g/100 L, respectively. Conclusions: Obtained results indicate obvious improvements in hemocompatibility and sufficiently satisfy the determined miniaturization aim for the Sputnik 2 LVAD development.

Year in Review 2020: Noteworthy Literature in Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology

The year 2020 was marred by the emergence of a deadly pandemic that disrupted every aspect of life. Despite the disruption, notable research accomplishments in the practice of cardiothoracic anesthesiology occurred in 2020 with an emphasis on optimizing care, improving outcomes, and expanding what is possible for patients undergoing cardiac surgery. This year's edition of Noteworthy Literature Review will focus on specific themes in cardiac anesthesiology that include preoperative anemia, predictors of acute kidney injury following cardiac surgery, pain management modalities, anticoagulation strategies after transcatheter aortic valve replacement, mechanical circulatory support, and future directions in research.

Quality of economic evaluations of ventricular assist devices: A systematic review

OBJECTIVE

Because of a lack of suitable heart donors, alternatives to transplantation are required. These alternatives can have high costs. The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review of cost-effectiveness studies of ventricular assist devices (VADs) and to assess the level of evidence of relevant studies. The purpose was not to present economic findings.

METHODS

A systematic review was performed using four electronic databases to identify health economic evaluation studies dealing with VADs. The methodological quality and reporting quality of the studies was assessed using three different tools, the Drummond, Cooper, and CHEERS (Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards) checklists.

RESULTS

Of the 1,258 publications identified, thirteen articles were included in this review. Twelve studies were cost-utility analyses and one was a cost-effectiveness analysis. According to the Cooper hierarchy scale, the quality of the data used was heterogeneous. The level of evidence used for clinical effect sizes, safety data, and baseline clinical data was of poor quality. In contrast, cost data were of high quality in most studies. Quality of reporting varied between studies, with an average score of 17.4 (range 15-19) according to the CHEERS checklist.

CONCLUSION

The current study shows that the quality of clinical data used in economic evaluations of VADs is rather poor in general. This is a concern that deserves greater attention in the process of health technology assessment of medical devices.

Costs Before and After Left Ventricular Assist Device Implant and Preceding Heart Transplant: A Cohort Study

BACKGROUND

Up to 50% of heart transplant candidates require bridging with left ventricular assist devices (VAD). This study describes hospital activity and cost 1 year preceding and 1 year following VAD implant (pre-VAD) and for the year before transplant (pre-HTX). The sample comprises an Australian cohort and is the first study to investigate costs using both institutional and linked administrative data.

METHODS

Institutional activity was established for 77 consecutive patients actively listed for transplant between 2009 and 2012. Costs were sourced from the institution or Australian refined diagnosis groups (arDRGs) and the National Efficient Price for admissions to other public and private institutions. Data from 25/77 VAD recipients were analysed and compared with data from 52/77 pre-transplant patients. Total and per day at risk costs were assessed, as well as totals per resource.

RESULTS

Fifty per cent (50%) of the hospital costs in the pre-VAD year occurred during admission of VAD implant. Sixty-four per cent (64%) of costs in the pre-HTX and 38% in the pre-VAD period occurred outside the implanting centre. Costs in the year prior to VAD, $97,565 (IQR $86,907-$153,916), were significantly higher than costs accrued in the year prior to transplant, $40,250 ($13,493-$81,260), p < 0.0001. Once discharged, costs per day at risk for post-VAD patients approximated those from the pre-admission period, p = 0.16 and in the more clinically stable pre-HTX cohort, p = 0.08.

CONCLUSION

Compared with the year prior, VAD implant stabilised hospital cost in patients discharged home. A high proportion of the hospital costs in the pre-implant year occur outside the implanting centre and should be considered in economic models assessing the impact of VAD implant.

Why is There Discordance between the Reimbursement of High-Cost 'Life-Extending' Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices? The Funding of Ventricular Assist Devices in Australia

New health technologies often yield health benefits, but often at a high cost. In Australia, the processes for public reimbursement of high-cost pharmaceuticals and medical devices are different, potentially resulting in inequity in support for new therapies. We explore how reimbursement is different for medical devices compared with pharmaceuticals, including whether higher cost-effectiveness thresholds are accepted for pharmaceuticals. A literature review identified the challenges of economic evaluations for medical devices compared with pharmaceuticals. We used the ventricular assist device as a case study to highlight specific features of medical device funding in Australia. We used existing guidelines to evaluate whether ventricular assist devices would fulfil the requirements for the "Life-Saving Drugs Program", which is usually reserved for expensive life-extending pharmaceutical treatments of serious and rare medical conditions. The challenges in conducting economic evaluations of medical devices include limited data to support effectiveness, device-operator interaction (surgical experience) and incremental innovations (miniaturisation). However, whilst high-cost pharmaceuticals may be funded by a single source (federal government), the funding of high-cost devices is complex and may be funded via a combination of federal, state and private health insurance. Based on the Life-Saving Drugs Program criteria, we found that ventricular assist devices could be funded by a similar mechanism to that which funds high-cost life-extending pharmaceuticals. This article highlights the complexities of medical device reimbursement. Whilst differences in available evidence affect the evaluation process, differences in funding methods contribute to inequitable reimbursement decisions between medical devices and pharmaceuticals.

A Systematic Review of Cost-Effectiveness Analyses of Left Ventricular Assist Devices: Issues and Challenges

BACKGROUND

Advanced heart failure (HF) can be treated conservatively or aggressively, with left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) and heart transplant (HT) being the most aggressive strategies.

OBJECTIVE

The goal of this review was to identify, describe, critique and summarize published cost-effectiveness analyses on LVADs for adults with HF.

METHODS

We conducted a literature search using PubMed and ProQuest DIALOG databases to identify English-language publications from 2006 to 2017 describing cost-effectiveness analyses of LVADs and reviewed them against inclusion criteria. Those that met criteria were obtained for full-text review and abstracted if they continued to meet study requirements.

RESULTS

A total of 12 cost-effectiveness studies (13 articles) were identified, all of which described models; they were almost evenly split between those examining LVADs as destination therapy (DT) or as bridge to transplant (BTT). Studies were Markov or semi-Markov models with one- or three-month cycles that followed patients until death. Inputs came from a variety of sources, with the REMATCH trial and INTERMACS registry common clinical data sources, although some publications also used data from studies at their own institutions. Costs were derived from standard sources in many studies but from individual hospital data in some. Inputs for health utilities, which were used in 11 of 12 studies, were generally derived from two studies. None of the studies reported a societal perspective, that is, included non-medical costs such as caregiving.

CONCLUSIONS

No study found LVADs to be cost effective for DT or BTT with base case assumptions, although incremental cost-effectiveness ratios met thresholds for cost effectiveness in some probabilistic analyses. With constant improvements in LVADs and expanding indications, understanding and re-evaluating the cost effectiveness of their use will be critical to making treatment decisions.

COMBINING INSTITUTIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE DATA TO ASSESS HOSPITAL COSTS FOR PATIENTS RECEIVING VENTRICULAR ASSIST DEVICES

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to describe patient level costing methods and develop a database of healthcare resource use and cost in patients with AHF receiving ventricular assist device (VAD) therapy.

METHODS

Patient level micro-costing was used to identify documented activity in the years preceding and following VAD implantation, and preceding heart transplant for a cohort of seventy-seven consecutive patients listed for heart transplantation (2009-12). Clinician interviews verified activity, established time resource required for each activity, and added additional undocumented activities. Costs were sourced from the general ledger, salary, stock price, pharmacy formulary data, and from national medical benefits and prostheses lists. Linked administrative data analyses of activity external to the implanting institution, used National Weighted Activity Units (NWAU), 2014 efficient price, and admission complexity cost weights and were compared with micro-costed data for the implanting admission.

RESULTS

The database produced includes patient level activity and costs associated with the seventy-seven patients across thirteen resource areas including hospital activity external to the implanting center. The median cost of the implanting admission using linked administrative data was $246,839 (interquartile range [IQR] $246,839-$271,743), versus $270,716 (IQR $211,740-$378,482) for the institutional micro-costing (p = .08).

CONCLUSIONS

Linked administrative data provides a useful alternative for imputing costs external to the implanting center, and combined with institutional data can illuminate both the pathways to transplant referral and the hospital activity generated by patients experiencing the terminal phases of heart failure in the year before transplant, cf-VAD implant, or death.

Causes and Predictors of 30-Day Readmission in Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction and Cardiogenic Shock

Background:

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) occurs as a result of irreversible damage to cardiac myocytes secondary to lack of blood supply. Cardiogenic shock complicating AMI has significant associated morbidity and mortality, and data on postdischarge outcomes are limited.

Methods and Results:

We derived the study cohort of patients with AMI and cardiogenic shock from the 2013 to 2014 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project National Readmission Database. Incidence, predictors, and causes of 30-day readmissions were analyzed. From 43 212 index admissions for AMI with cardiogenic shock, 26 016 (60.2%) survived to discharge and 5277 (20.2% of survivors) patients were readmitted within 30 days. More than 50% of these readmissions occurred within first 10 days. Cardiac causes accounted for 42% of 30-day readmissions (heart failure 20.6%; acute coronary syndrome 11.6%). Among noncardiac causes, respiratory (11.4%), infectious (9.4%), medical or surgical care complications (6.3%), gastrointestinal/hepatobiliary (6.5%), and renal causes (4.8%) were most common. Length of stay ≥8 days (odds ratio [OR], 2.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.70–2.44; P <0.01), acute deep venous thrombosis (OR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.08–1.48; P <0.01), liver disease (OR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.03–1.50; P =0.02), systemic thromboembolism (OR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.02–1.44; P =0.02), peripheral vascular disease (OR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.07–1.27; P <0.01), diabetes mellitus (OR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.08–1.24; P <0.01), long-term ventricular assist device implantation (OR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.23–2.55; P <0.01), intraaortic balloon pump use (OR, 1.10; 95% CI, 1.02–1.18; P <0.01), performance of coronary artery bypass grafting (OR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.77–0.93; P <0.01), private insurance (OR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.64–0.80; P <0.01), and discharge to home (OR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.73–0.98; P =0.03) were among the independent predictors of 30-day readmission.

Conclusions:

In-hospital mortality and 30-day readmission in cardiogenic shock complicating AMI are significantly elevated. Patients are readmitted mainly for noncardiac causes. Identification of high-risk factors may guide interventions to improve outcomes within this population.