Economic evaluation of osteoarthritis treatment in Europe

Osteoarthritis is one of the leading causes of disability. Among the available treatments, NSAIDs are the most common. The present paper reviews economic studies conducted in the last five years on the treatment of osteoarthritis in Europe. The majority focus on NSAID therapy, mainly comparing COX2-specific inhibitors against COX non-specific inhibitors. The reviewed studies estimate healthcare costs only. The final results indicate that, owing to the lower incidence of adverse events, COX2-specific inhibitors should now dominate over traditional NSAIDs. However, the differences found in the methods used to measure costs suggest that results should be interpreted with caution. To estimate costs, authors used diverse values that were not always consistent with the studies' perspective. Furthermore, many did not report resource consumption patterns, making comparisons among the studies difficult, as economic results are influenced by the price/charging policies of different countries. Economic evaluations have the potential to affect health policy by assisting the ranking and prioritisation obligations of decision makers. In this context, it is important to meet strict methodological guidelines.