Cost Effectiveness of Peginterferon ??-2a Plus Ribavirin versus Interferon ??-2b Plus Ribavirin as Initial Therapy for Treatment-Naive Chronic Hepatitis C

Introduction: In adults with previously untreated chronic hepatitis C (CHC), the combination of peginterferon α-2a plus ribavirin produces a higher rate of sustained virological response (SVR) than interferon α-2b plus ribavirin, but it is still unproven whether this increase is cost effective. The objective of this study was to determine if the gain in SVR with peginterferon α-2a plus ribavirin is worth the incremental cost. Methods: We constructed a Markov model of disease progression in which cohorts of patients received peginterferon α-2a plus ribavirin or interferon α-2b plus ribavirin for 48 weeks (hepatitis C virus [HCV] genotype 1 and non-1 patients with fibrosis) or 24 weeks (genot…