Early cost-utility analysis of hepatitis C virus testing for emergency department attendees in France

Abstract

Testing for hepatitis C virus (HCV) is currently targeted towards those at high-risk in France. While universal screening was recently rejected, a growing body of research from other high-income countries suggests that HCV testing in emergency departments (ED) can be effective and cost-effective. In the absence of any studies on the effectiveness of HCV testing in ED attendees in France, this study aimed to perform an early economic evaluation of ED-based HCV testing. A Markov model was developed to simulate HCV testing in the ED versus no ED testing. The model captured costs from a French health service perspective, presented in 2020 euros, and outcomes, presented as quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), over a lifetime horizon. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) were calculated as costs per QALYs gained and compared to willingness-to-pay thresholds of €18,592 and €33,817 per QALY. Value of information analyses were also performed. ED testing for HCV was cost-effective at both thresholds when assuming ED prevalence of 1.1%, yielding an ICER of €3,800 per QALY. Testing remained cost-effective when the HCV prevalence amongst ED attendees remained higher than in the general population (0.3%). The maximum value of future research ranged from €10 to €79 million, depending on time horizons and willingness-to-pay thresholds. Our analysis suggests ED-based HCV testing may be cost-effective in France, although there is uncertainty due to the lack of empirical studies available. Further research is of high value, suggesting seroprevalence surveys and pilot studies in French ED settings are warranted.