A study from the University of Birmingham, UK, has indicated that the use of digoxin could lead to substantial cost savings for the National Health Service (NHS) when treating senior individuals with heart failure and atrial fibrillation (AF).
The research suggests that using digoxin, a drug first used in 1785, could result in annual savings of at least £100m ($124.4m) for the NHS, compared to treatment with beta-blockers.
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A health economic analysis, part of the RATE-AF trial, revealed that the drug causes fewer adverse events.
The trial included 160 subjects and was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
Subjects were randomly assigned to receive either the drug or beta-blockers for 12 months.
The trial aimed to assess the cost-effectiveness of these treatments for AF, a common heart rhythm disorder, and associated heart failure symptoms.
There were reduced rates of hospital admissions and fewer general practice reviews for heart health concerns.
These benefits translate into an average saving of £530 per subject per year with the drug’s treatment.
The University of Birmingham Health Economics Unit deputy head and the study’s corresponding author Sue Jowett said: “This study highlights the importance of health economic assessments and the role they can play to deliver appropriate treatments within the health service.
“At the usual £20,000 per quality-adjusted life year threshold, the probability of digoxin being cost-effective compared to beta-blockers was 94%, which could lead to substantial savings if the trial results were adopted more broadly in this population.”
When these findings are applied to the NHS in a wider context, researchers estimate potential cost savings of £102m per year.
This figure represents a nearly 6% reduction in the £1.7bn currently spent annually on AF in the UK.
Earlier this month, the university launched the ‘Glo-BNHL’ trial. This global study is investigating new treatments for paediatric individuals with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL).
