Cost-effectiveness of pharmacological treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents: qualitative synthesis of scientific evidence.

OBJECTIVE To describe the cost-effectiveness analyses of medications launched in Spain for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents. MATERIAL AND METHODS Systematic review of the literature without meta-analysis. A search was made in, PubMed/MEDLINE, SCOPUS, databases of the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, and the websites of technology assessment agencies from Canada, the United Kingdom and the Spanish Platform AUnETS. Only full economic evaluations were included, considering at least methylphenidate or atomoxetine as pharmacological treatment alternatives in children and/or adolescents with ADHD. RESULTS Eleven studies published in 9 articles or reports were included. The most frequent characteristics were: cost-utility analysis (82%), health system perspective (82%), short-term horizon (91%), and private funding (50%). Methylphenidate was included in all studies, and atomoxetine in 4 studies. Methylphenidate and atomoxetine are cost-effective alternatives compared to placebo or no treatment, although incremental cost-effectiveness ratios are variable. The few direct treatment-comparisons between methylphenidate and atomoxetine provided contradictory and potentially biased results. CONCLUSIONS The pharmacological treatment of ADHD in children and adolescents, with the reservations arising from the generalization of results to different settings, is probably cost-effective in the short term. The existing studies do not allow the relative efficiency of different treatments to be established, either in the long-term treatment or in patient subgroups with specific characteristics or comorbidities.