ABCDE
1
VariableValueUnitSourceNotes
2
Scale
3
Percentage of sufferers of BSD in the US (12-month)2.20%https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21383262/
4
UK population67.2E+6https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21383262/
5
Number of sufferers of BSD in the UK1.5E+6I couldn't find any data on the percentage of sufferers of BSD in the UK, so I used the US data.
6
Average time until correct diagnosis7.5yearshttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10357026/
7
Average fraction of time spent depressed0.3https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12507734/
8
QALY loss while depressed (per year)0.5https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25660550/
9
QALY loss before correct treatment (per year)0.15
10
QALY loss before correct diagnosis for one patient1.125
11
Total QALY loss before correct diagnosis in the UK1.7E+6
12
13
Tractability
14
Percentage of sufferers of depression in developed countries (12-month)5.50%https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/depression/background-information/prevalence/#:~:text=The%20average%20lifetime%20prevalence%20estimate,adults%20in%20high%2Dincome%20countries.
15
Number of patients with depression (including BSD) in the UK3.7E+6
16
Patients experiencing intervention who would be correctly identified as bipolar24%See separate sheet (Intervention Statistics)
17
Patients experiencing intervention who would be incorrectly identified as bipolar7%See separate sheet (Intervention Statistics)
18
Delay of treatment for false positives0.25yearsIt is obvious if lamotrigine was effective within a couple of months.
19
QALY loss due to treatment delay for false positives33.7E+3
20
Percentage of patients who recover on correct diagnosis (and treatment with lamotrigine)10%https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19118318/This is a guesstimate based on the best meta-analysis available, which still seems insufficient. Overall, perhaps the first step to the success of this intervention would be gathering more evidence in support of lamotrigine, but the cost involved may render it no longer cost-effective.
21
QALYs gained due to correct diagnosis and treatment in true positives101.1E+3
22
Net QALYs gained due to intervention (in the UK)67.3E+3
23
24
Cost
25
Salary for a person advocating for policy change and conducting the intervention£30,000.00GBP
26
Number of GPs in the UK36752https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/nhs-delivery-and-workforce/pressures/pressures-in-general-practice-data-analysis
27
Cost of printing and sending educational materials to one GP5GBPpessimistic estimate
28
Total cost£213,760.00GBP
29
Total cost in dollars237,273.60USD
30
31
Total cost effectiveness for intervention within the UK0.28QALY/dollar