The Cost‑Utility of Intravenous Magnesium Sulfate for Treating Acute
Asthma in Children
Abstract
Introduction Despite the evidence supporting the use of intravenous
Magnesium Sulfate (MS) in acute asthma; this drug continues being
considered as the second line in pediatric acute asthma exacerbations.
This study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the MS in acute
asthma. Methods A decision tree model was used to estimate the
Cost-utility study that compared MS versus standard treatment (control
group) in an infant with acute asthma in the emergency setting. Cost
data were obtained from a retrospective study on asthma from tertiary
centers in Rionegro, Colombia, while utilities were collected from the
literature. The analysis was carried out from a societal perspective.
Results The model showed that MS for treating pediatric patient with
acute asthma, was associated with lower total cost than standard therapy
(US $1149 vs US $1598 average cost per patient), and higher QALYs (
0.60 vs 0.52 average per patient); showing dominance. the probabilty
that MS provides a more cost-effective use of resources compared with
standard therapy exceeds 99% for all willingness to pay thresholds
Conclusion MS in emergency settings was cost-effective for the hospital
treatment of an infant with asthma moderate or severe. Our study
provides evidence that should be used by decision-makers to improve
clinical practice guidelines and should be replicated to validate their
results in other middle-income countries.