Economic analysis of the costs associated with prematurity from a literature review.

OBJECTIVES: To analyse published cost-of-illness studies that had assessed the cost of prematurity according to gestational age at birth. METHODS: A review of the literature was carried out in March 2011 using the following databases: Medline, ScienceDirect, The Cochrane Library, Econlit and Business Source Premier, and a French Public-Health database. Key-word sequences related to 'prematurity' and 'costs' were considered. Studies that assessed costs according to the gestational age (GA) at the premature birth (<37 weeks of gestation) in industrialized countries and during the last two decades were included. Variations in the reported costs were analysed using a check-list, which allowed the studies to be described according to several methodological and contextual criteria. RESULTS: A total of 18 studies published since 1990 were included. According to these studies, costs were assessed for different follow-up periods (short, medium or long-term), and for different degrees of prematurity (extreme, early, moderate and late). Results showed that whatever the follow-up period, costs correlated inversely with GA. They also showed considerable variability in costs within the same GA group. Differences between studies could be explained by the choices made, concerning i/the study populations, ii/contextual information, iii/and various economic criteria. Despite these variations, a global trend of costs was estimated in the short-term period using mean costs from four American studies that presented similar methodologies. Costs stand at over US$ 100,000 for extreme prematurity, between US$ 40,000 and US$ 100,000 for early prematurity, between US$ 10,000 and US$ 30,000 for moderate prematurity and below US$ 4500 for late prematurity. CONCLUSION: This review underlined not only the clear inverse relationship between costs and GA at birth, but also the difficulty to transfer the results to the French context. It suggests that studies specific to the French health system need to be carried out.

[Changes in clinical practice related to the arrival of next-generation sequencing in the genetic diagnosis of developmental diseases]. / Les modifications de pratique clinique liées à l'arrivée du séquençage haut débit dans le diagnostic génétique des maladies du développement.

INTRODUCTION: The arrival of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) has led to a sweeping change in the diagnosis of developmental abnormalities (DA) with or without intellectual deficiency (ID). With the prospect of deploying these new technologies, two questions have been raised: the representations of HTS among geneticists and the costs incurred due to these analyses. METHODS: Geneticists attending a clinical genetics seminar were invited to complete a questionnaire. The statistical analysis was essentially descriptive and an analysis of costs was undertaken. RESULTS: Of those responding to the questionnaire, 48% had already prescribed exome analysis and 25% had already had the occasion to disclose the results of such analyses. Ninety-six percent were aware that whole-exome sequencing (WES) had certain limits and 74% expressed misgivings concerning its use in medical practice. In parallel, the evaluation of costs showed that WES was less expensive than conventional procedures. DISCUSSION: The survey revealed that geneticists had already come to terms with HTS as early as 2015. Among the major concerns expressed were the complexity of interpreting these tests and the many ethical implications. Geneticists seemed to be aware of the advantages but also the limits of these new technologies. The cost analysis raises questions about the place of HTS and in particular WES in the diagnostic work-up: should it be used early to obtain an etiological diagnosis rather than as the last resort? CONCLUSION: It is essential for future generations of doctors and for the families concerned to learn about the concepts of HTS, which is set to become a major feature of new genomic medicine.