Introduction: Myasthenia gravis (MG) exacerbations may be treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) or plasma exchange (PLEX), which have equivalent effectiveness. This cost-minimization analysis compared IVIg with PLEX for treatment of patients with MG exacerbation.
Methods: We combined the Ontario-based health cost data with clinical data from a randomized clinical trial. Analyses were undertaken from the perspective of a public healthcare insurer and from the perspective of a tertiary university hospital payer.
Results: PLEX was less costly than IVIg among patients with a body mass index (BMI) > 15.7 kg/m(2) , from the perspective of the public healthcare insurer (P < 0.0001). However, PLEX was more costly than IVIg from the perspective of the hospital payer when the costs of blood products were excluded (P < 0.0001).
Conclusions: PLEX can be considered a short-term cost-minimizing therapy when compared with IVIg for treatment of MG exacerbation among patients with BMI >15.7 kg/m(2) , from the perspective of a public healthcare insurer. Muscle Nerve 53: 872-876, 2016.
Keywords: cost-minimization analysis; intravenous immunoglobulin; myasthenia gravis; neuromuscular junction disease; plasma exchange.
© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.