Cost‐effectiveness of insertable cardiac monitors for diagnosis of atrial fibrillation in cryptogenic stroke in Australia

Introduction Detection of atrial fibrillation (AF) is required to initiate oral anticoagulation (OAC) after cryptogenic stroke (CS). However, paroxysmal AF can be difficult to diagnose with short term cardiac monitoring. Taking an Australian payer perspective, we evaluated whether long‐term continuous monitoring for 3 years with an insertable cardiac monitor (ICM) is cost‐effective for preventing recurrent stroke in patients with CS. Methods A lifetime Markov model was developed to simulate the follow‐up of patients, comparing long‐term continuous monitoring with an ICM to monitoring by conventional care. We used a linked evidence approach to estimate the rates of recurrent stroke when AF detection leads to initiation of OAC, as detected using ICM during the lifetime of the device or as detected using usual care. All diagnostic and patient management costs were modeled. Other model inputs were determined by literature review. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis (PSA) was undertaken to explore the effect of parameter uncertainty according to CHADS2 score and OAC treatment effect. Results In the base‐case analysis, the model predicted an incremental cost‐effectiveness ratio (ICER) of A$29 570 per quality‐adjusted life year (QALY). Among CHADS2 subgroups analyses, the ICER ranged from A$26 342/QALY (CHADS2 = 6) to A$42 967/QALY (CHADS2 = 2). PSA suggested that the probabilities of ICM strategy being cost‐effective were 53.4% and 78.7%, at thresholds of $30 000 (highly cost‐effective) and $50 000 per QALY (cost‐effective), respectively. Conclusions Long‐term continuous monitoring with an ICM is a cost‐effective intervention to prevent recurrent stroke in patients following CS in the Australian context. A lifetime Markov model evaluated the cost‐effectiveness of insertable cardiac monitors for the diagnosis of atrial fibrillation in Australian cryptogenic stroke patients. The model predicted an incremental cost‐effectiveness ratio of A$29 570 per quality‐adjusted life year (QALY) gained, which is within the cost‐effectiveness thresholds considered highly cost‐effective (A$30 000 per QALY) and cost‐effective (A$50 000 per QALY) in an Australian environment.