Systematic review for economic evaluations on newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy

Abstract

Objective: Evaluate the quality and cost-effectiveness of economic evaluations of newborn screening (NBS) for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). Methods: A systematic review was conducted following Cochrane Handbook guidelines and PRISMA-S checklist. From 146 identified papers, 22 were screened for full-text, and 5 were included. Studies were evaluated for quality of reporting and transparency using the CHEERs and QHES checklists. Data was extracted to inform the review. Results: Four economic evaluations on NBS for SMA with high reporting quality were identified. Each study employed a cost-utility analysis with similar model structures, using a decision tree for screening and a Markov model for treatment outcomes. They each compared NBS with treatment vs clinical diagnosis (no screening) with treatment. Although treatment protocols of each study varied due to differences in the strategies considered and availability of treatment. All studies included a societal perspective in their analysis and considered a lifetime horizon ranging from 30 months to 100 years. Early NBS with treatment was found to be more cost-effective than late treatment in all studies with ICER values ranging from £−117,541 to $714,000 per QALY. The wide range of ICER values are due to assumptions of long-term outcomes which are still largely unknown. Conclusion: NBS with treatment was found to be cost-effective by all studies when compared to no NBS and late treatment. Although there is uncertainty around long term outcomes. Future research should focus on collecting long-term efficacy and safety data and evaluating the cost-effectiveness of pre-symptomatic treatment.