Additionally, the identification and isolation of a myriad of spider and scorpion toxins has allowed research within next generation antivenoms to progress at an increasingly faster pace. Information on venom composition and the toxins present in these species is growing due to an interest in using bioactive toxins from spiders and scorpions for drug discovery purposes and for solving crystal structures of membrane-embedded receptors. Spiders and scorpions are notorious for their fearful dispositions and their ability to inject venom into prey and predators, causing symptoms such as necrosis, paralysis, and excruciating pain.

Laustsen, Andreas Hougaard SolÃ , Mireia Jappe, Emma Christine Oscoz, Saioa Lauridsen, Line PrÃ¦st Engmark, Mikael All rights reserved.īiotechnological Trends in Spider and Scorpion Antivenom Development Formulary committees should restrict the use of this antivenom to only the most severe scorpion envenomations. The scorpion antivenom marketed in the United States is extremely effective, but too costly to justify its use in most clinical situations. Cost-effectiveness analysis found that the scorpion antivenom was not cost-effective at its current price as marketed in the United States. Since the 95% CIs do not overlap for either the success or cost, use of the scorpion antivenom was significantly more effective and significantly more expensive than no antivenom. A Monte Carlo simulation was run 1000 times and sampled simultaneously across all variable distributions in the model. Patients that became so ill that mechanical ventilator support was necessary were considered treatment failures. The probability of clinical events occurring with and without antivenom was obtained from the published literature, medical claims obtained from Arizona Medicaid, and results of recent clinical trials. Cost data used in the model were extracted from Arizona Medicaid. Costs were determined from the perspective of a health care payer. A decision analytic model was created to assess patient course with and without antivenom.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the cost-effectiveness of scorpion antivenom compared to no antivenom, in the United States, using a decision analysis framework. Is scorpion antivenom cost-effective as marketed in the United States?Īrmstrong, Edward P Bakall, Maja Skrepnek, Grant H Boyer, Leslie V

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