Cost-effectiveness of ethyl-eicosapentaenoic acid in the treatment of bipolar disorder.

BACKGROUND This study develops an economic model to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of ethyl-eicosapentaenoic acid (ethyl-EPA) as an adjunct treatment of bipolar I disorder. METHODS A 1-year Markov model is used incorporating three health states: euthymic, manic and depressive. The model was populated using outcomes from a clinical trial on clinical efficacy and other published literature. RESULTS The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) of ethyl-EPA in comparison with placebo was estimated to be -£2,782 in 2008/09 prices, the negative ICER indicating ethyl-EPA to be a more effective and less costly treatment option than placebo in terms of cost savings of other resource use. CONCLUSIONS The sensitivity analysis indicated that the results were robust. Future research covering a longer time period using broader costs of the disease will be required to consolidate these findings.