Treatment and Prevention of Stroke Cost Saving?
Stroke is the leading cause of long term disability worldwide and a common cause of hospital admissions. To be cost effective, therapeutic interventions should not only reduce disability but also decrease the need for hospital stay or long term care. As acute treatment, the thrombolytic alteplase (recombinant tissue plasminogen activator; rt-PA) appears to reduce stroke-related costs if given within 3 hours of symptom onset. Specialised stroke units can also reduce length of hospital stay and decrease associated costs.
Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) is the most commonly used preventive therapy and is cost saving. Compared with aspirin in high-risk individuals, ticlopidine is moderately cost effective, and warfarin may also be preferred in these patients (but not in low-risk individuals). Adding dipyridamole to aspirin is likely to increase health benefits at modest extra cost compared with aspirin alone.
Stroke is the leading cause of long term disability worldwide and a common cause of hospital admissions. To be cost effective, therapeutic interventions should not only reduce disability but also decrease the need for hospital stay or long term care. As acute treatment, the thrombolytic alteplase (recombinant tissue plasminogen activator; rt-PA) appears to reduce stroke-related costs if given within 3 hours of symptom onset. Specialised stroke units can also reduce length of hospital stay and decrease associated costs.
Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) is the most commonly used preventive therapy and is cost saving. Compared with aspirin in high-risk individuals, ticlopidine is moderately cost effective, and warfarin may also be preferred in these patients (but not in low-risk individuals). Adding dipyridamole to aspirin is likely to increase health benefits at modest extra cost compared with aspirin alone.
| Alteplase is not available for use in the treatment and prevention of stroke in France; nadroparin is not available in the US. |
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