A Markov computer simulation model of the economics of neuromuscular blockade in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome

BACKGROUND: Management of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in the intensive care unit (ICU) is clinically challenging and costly. Neuromuscular blocking agents may facilitate mechanical ventilation and improve oxygenation, but may result in prolonged recovery of neuromuscular function and acute quadriplegic myopathy syndrome (AQMS). The goal of this study was to address a hypothetical question via computer modeling: Would a reduction in intubation time of 6 hours and/or a reduction in the incidence of AQMS from 25% to 21%, provide enough benefit to justify a drug with an additional expenditure of $267 (the difference in acquisition cost between a generic and brand name neuromuscular blocker)? METHODS: The base case was a 55 year-old man in the ICU with ARDS who receives neuromuscular blockade for 3.5 days. A Markov model was designed with hypothetical patients in 1 of 6 mutually exclusive health states: ICU-intubated, ICU-extubated, hospital ward, long-term care, home, or death, over a period of 6 months. The net monetary benefit was computed. RESULTS: Our computer simulation modeling predicted the mean cost for ARDS patients receiving standard care for 6 months to be$62,238 (5% – 95% percentiles $42,259 –$83,766), with an overall 6-month mortality of 39%. Assuming a ceiling ratio of $35,000, even if a drug (that cost$267 more) hypothetically reduced AQMS from 25% to 21% and decreased intubation time by 6 hours, the net monetary benefit would only equal $137. CONCLUSION: ARDS patients receiving a neuromuscular blocker have a high mortality, and unpredictable outcome, which results in large variability in costs per case. If a patient dies, there is no benefit to any drug that reduces ventilation time or AQMS incidence. A prospective, randomized pharmacoeconomic study of neuromuscular blockers in the ICU to asses AQMS or intubation times is impractical because of the highly variable clinical course of patients with ARDS

Interaction of ORG 9426 and some of the clinically used intravenous anaesthetic agents in the cat

The interaction of ORG 9426, a new non-depolarizing neuromuscular blocking agent, with intravenous anaesthetic drugs (fentanyl, thiopental, midazolam, droperidol and etomidate) has been investigated in cats. During an infusion of one of the above anaesthetics, the ED95 dose was determined by titration, and thereafter muscle relaxation was maintained with four subsequent doses of ORG 9426. Neither the potency nor the duration of action of the first dose nor that of the maintenance doses of ORG 9426 differed from those observed in a control group of cats anaesthetized with intraperitoneally administered pentobarbital. The recovery rates were similar in all groups. The authors conclude that, under the conditions of this study, commonly used intravenous anaesthetic drugs are not likely to influence the neuromuscular blocking potency and time course of action of ORG 9426 to any appreciable degree