Cost-effectiveness of losartan in diabetic nephropathy: a Greek perspective.

BACKGROUND: Diabetic nephropathy is the primary cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD), which involves substantial economic burden. The primary objective of this study was to estimate the potential effect of losartan on the costs associated with ESRD in patients with diabetic nephropathy in a Greek setting. A secondary aim was to approximate the direct health care cost of renal replacement therapy (RRT) in Greece. METHODS: A cost-effectiveness analysis was performed to compare losartan with placebo in patients with type 2 diabetes and nephropathy. Clinical data were derived from the RENAAL study. All costs were calculated from the perspective of the Greek social insurance system, in 2003 euros. Future costs were discounted at 3%. The time horizon was 3.5 years. Extensive sensitivity analyses were performed. RESULTS: The reduction in the number of ESRD days over 3.5 years in patients treated with losartan reduced ESRD-related costs by 3,056.54 euros, resulting in net cost savings of 1,665.43 euros per patient. Net cost savings increase thereafter, increasing to 2,686.48 euros per patient over a period of 4.0 years. The results were robust under a wide range of plausible assumptions. The weighted mean daily cost of RRT was estimated at 90.97 euros per patient. The total economic burden of RRT for the year 2003 has been estimated at 304.773 million euros. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that treatment of patients with diabetic nephropathy in Greece with losartan is cost-effective, as it leads to important savings for the social insurance system by slowing the progression to ESRD.

Bone disease in long-term hemodialysis patients with low dialysate aluminium.

The dialysis unit in Sunderland uses softener water treatment with low Al concentration (dialysate mean Al 22 micrograms/L) but employs continuous oral Al (OH)3 to control serum phosphate. Thirty-one patients, 22 males and 9 females, with a mean age of 45 years, maintained on hemodialysis for a mean of 48 months were studied. Patients had higher Al concentrations than normal controls (p less than 0.001) and the postdialysis serum Al levels were also significantly higher than the predialysis levels. Twenty-four of 31 patients had evidence of hyperparathyroidism on radiology but only 4 of 31 had fractures. From a histopathological point of view, the patients were found to have no lesions (4 patients), osteitis fibrosa alone (17 patients), and osteitis fibrosa combined with osteomalacia (5 patients). The effect of 1-alpha(OH)D3 treatment was checked by repeated bone biopsies. One case of the last group showed no improvement of osteitis fibrosa, while osteomalacia progressed to severe. We conclude that both antacids and dialysate contribute to the serum and tissue Al accumulation in Sunderland Renal Unit, where over a period of ten years only one patient developed Al-related osteomalacia.