Abstract
BACKGROUND: Tricuspid regurgitation is a condition that affects 1.6 million patients in the United States and is independently associated with morbidity and mortality. The TriClip™ procedure repairs the tricuspid valve without the need for open-heart surgery. The aim of this study is to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of TriClip™ treatment in patients with advanced tricuspid regurgitation from the Turkish reimbursement agency perspective. METHODS: Within the scope of this study, the general literature was searched in order to reach data on tricuspid regurgitation. The utilization of health care services used in the expert panel was re-calculated with the current reimbursement costs to determine the cost of heart failure in Turkey. In this study, Markov analysis, Tornado analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, and partitioned survival analysis have been performed to determine whether TriClip™ is an effective treatment method compared to medication treatment. RESULTS: In according to calculations, 5-year survival rate was found as 49.91% for medication treatment and 57.64% for TriClip™ treatment. According to the analysis performed, the cost of medication treatment was calculated as €3879.72 and TriClip™ Transcatheter Tricuspid Valve Repair System treatment as €25 661.15 for a 60-month period in patients with tricuspid regurgitation and New York Heart Association III-IV. In the calculation, it was found that TriClip™ treatment gave patients an average of 1.64 life years and it was found to be cost-effective compared to medication treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the positive effect of TriClip™ treatment on patients with tricuspid regurgitation in terms of mortality and regression of the heart failure stage, as recommended in the guidelines, widespread of its use has great importance.