Cost Effectiveness of Early Treatment with Direct-Acting Antiviral Therapy in Adolescent Patients with Hepatitis C Virus Infection

Objective To evaluate the cost effectiveness of early treatment with direct-acting antiviral therapy in adolescent patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection compared with treatment deferral. Study design We constructed a Markov model to assess the cost effectiveness of treating a hypothetical cohort of 30 000 adolescent patients with chronic HCV at age 12 years compared with deferring treatment until adulthood from a societal perspective. Model inputs for transition probabilities, HCV treatment and medical care costs, and quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) utilities were derived from the literature and wholesale acquisition estimates. Deterministic sensitivity analyses varied parameters for non-HCV medical care and treatment cost, reinfection rates, treatment uptake, disease progression, liver transplant survival, and treatment with recently approved pangenotypic direct-acting antiviral agents. Discounted costs and total QALYs per person were quantified after 30 years. Cost effectiveness was evaluated as the incremental change in total medical costs per QALY gained. Results The incremental cost effectiveness of early treatment initiation compared with deferred treatment was approximately $27 000 per QALY gained after 30 years and considered cost effective. In a scenario analysis, hypothetical treatment initiation with currently available pangenotypic agents would be even more cost effective, ranging from $10 000 to $21 000 per QALY gained. Cost-effectiveness estimates were sensitive to variations in decompensated cirrhosis progression in adolescence, adult reinfection, and treatment uptake in adults. Conclusions Early treatment in adolescent patients with chronic HCV infection with currently available direct-acting antivirals seems to be cost effective compared with deferred treatment. Future efforts to control the HCV epidemic should include increasing the number of children treated.