A comparative cost-analysis of initiating pregabalin or SSRI/SNRI therapy in benzodiazepine-resistant patients with generalized anxiety disorder in Spain.

OBJECTIVE To compare the relative healthcare costs, from the perspective of the Spanish National Healthcare System (NHS), of initiating treatment with either pregabalin, or SSRI/SNRI, as add-on therapies, in patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), who are resistant to benzodiazepine-based therapy (BR). METHODS BR out-patients with GAD (DSM-IV) who were included in a 6-month, prospective, multicentre, observational cohort study were selected for this post-hoc economic analysis. BR was defined as insufficient response, with persistence of symptoms of anxiety (HAM-Anxiety scale≥16), after a 6-month course of benzodiazepines. Patients had not been previously exposed to pregabalin or SSRI/SNRI. Healthcare resource utilization (drugs, medical visits, hospitalizations, etc.) associated with GAD was collected at baseline and end-of-trial visits. Related costs were estimated at each visit and adjusted changes were compared using ANCOVA. RESULTS A total of 128 patients with refractory GAD were treated with pregabalin and 126 SSRI/SNRI. Compared with SSRI/SNRI, pregabalin was associated with significantly lower percentage of benzodiazepines users; 57.0% vs 87.3%, p<0.001, and greater reduction in medical visits; -15.1 vs -13.0, p=0.029. Mean total healthcare resource utilization costs decreased significantly in the pregabalin cohort only; -289 (p=0.003), although six months costs were not significantly different in both groups; 977 vs 822, respectively. CONCLUSION Initiating treatment with pregabalin was associated with significant reduction in medical visits and total health care resource costs of GAD compared to SSRI/ SNRI in BR patients in the Spanish NHS setting. Compared with SSRI/SNRI, pregabalin therapy was accompanied by significantly less percentage of patients on concomitant benzodiazepines therapy.