[Analysis of the cost effectiveness of home-based phototherapy with narrow-band UV-B radiation compared with biological drugs for the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis].

BACKGROUND Psoriasis is associated with high treatment costs due to the increasing use of biologic drugs. Phototherapy has been demonstrated to be safe and cost effective for the treatment of psoriasis, although it is limited by the requirement for patients to visit a hospital various times a week. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the efficiency of home-based phototherapy with narrow-band UV-B radiation compared with biologic drugs for the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis under normal practice conditions in our setting. METHODS A retrospective cost-effectiveness study was undertaken in 12 patients with moderate to severe psoriasis. Half of the patients were treated with biologic drugs (2 with etanercept, 2 with adalimumab, and 2 with infliximab) and the other half with home-based phototherapy using a Waldmann UV100L-TL01 lamp. Clinical effectiveness was determined on the basis of achieving a 75% improvement in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI 75) within 16 weeks of treatment. RESULTS Treatment was considered to be effective in 5 out of 6 patients (83%) treated with biologics and 4 out of 6 patients (66%) treated with home-based phototherapy. The direct costs required to achieve PASI 75 were 8256€ per patient for biologics and 903€ per patient for home-based phototherapy. The costs associated with effective treatment using biologic drugs in a single patient would provide effective home-based phototherapy for 9.1 patients. LIMITATIONS The study included a limited number of patients analyzed over a short time period (16 weeks) and the comparison group included multiple treatments with different predicted responses. CONCLUSIONS Although biologic drugs exhibited greater efficacy, home-based phototherapy was more efficient for the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis. Home-based phototherapy represents a cost-effective treatment option for patients with psoriasis and may be appropriate for use in the Spanish health care system.