EVALUATION OF TREATMENT EFFICACY AND COST-EFFECTIVENESS FOR WARTS IN PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED MALIGNANCIES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48047/jbxkjh15Keywords:
Warts, Human Papillomavirus (HPV), Cost-Effectiveness, Cryotherapy, Topical Imiquimod, Surgical Excision, Remission.Abstract
This research paper was to compare the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of different treatments of warts in 300 patients, considering the complete remission (CR) rates and the cost involved. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the main cause of warts that can be seen in people of all ages and treated because of its painful and unattractive appearance. The methods of treatment evaluated in the study included four treatments: cryotherapy, topical imiquimod, surgical excision and combinations (cryotherapy and topical imiquimod). Age, gender, performance status, cancer stage (with cancer patients) and previous treatment history were identified as the baseline data. The outcomes indicated that 60 percent of patients attained CR with original warts and 73.3 percent with warts of any kind. The most prevalent modality was cryotherapy (50%), then topical imiquimod (38.9%), and surgical excision (11.1). The recurrence rates of original warts and warts in general were 22.2 and 22.7 respectively. The overall average cost per patient was 3250 that comprised both the direct and indirect cost. The economic model showed that combined therapy was the most affordable of the treatment generated and its cost was 2,450/CR. Cryotherapy and topical imiquimod were both effective and cost-effective and surgical excision was the least cost-effective intervention. These results indicate that cryotherapy and topical imiquimod are more appropriate because of their effectiveness and costs, especially when limited resources are used, and combined therapy may be the most appropriate with respect to the success of therapy and costs.
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