Adjunctive therapy in epilepsy: a cost-effectiveness comparison of alternative treatment options.

A pharmaco-economic study of the administration of adjunctive therapy in patients with chronic epilepsy is described. A decision-analytic model has been used, which represents the consequences of treatment over a 1-year time period, when one of three drugs is used first. The cost-effectiveness ratio for clobazam, lamotrigine and vigabatrin have been calculated. The expected cost per patient of treatment over the 1-year period was up to 50% higher with vigabatrin and lamotrigine compared with clobazam, with a cost-effectiveness ratio around 40% higher.