A one-year prospective costing study of botulinum toxin type A treatment of chronic tension headache

The objective was to measure the cost of botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) treatment of chronic tension-type headache. A prospective pharmaceutical costing analysis was completed in the Day Hospital of the Regional Referral Headache Centre at Sant’Andrea Hospital in Rome, chronic tension-type headache patients were treated from February 2003 to January 2004. Patients were treated with 100 U of BTX-A every three months for one year by using the Fixed Doses Fixed Sites procedure. The cost of treatment was based on drug acquisition costs, supplies and professional time needed to administer treatment. The average cost of conventional headache medications was € 853.43 before BTX-A treatment, and € 450.47 after. The cost of BTX-A treatment was € 642.00. Adding the cost of adjunctive conventional medications brought the total cost of BTX-A treatment to € 1092.47. BTX-A treatment reduced use of conventional headache medications and expenditures although the net cost of treatment increased with BTX-A use.