Table 4 Sensitivity analyses conducted
Parameter | Base case | Sensitivity analysis |
|---|---|---|
Time horizon | 1 year | The time horizon was increased to 5 years. |
Hypoglycaemia rates | Published literature: Brod et al. [37] UK Hypoglycaemia Study Group [36] Vora et al. [27] | Additional published event rates [27, 28, 38, 39] were investigated, including those reported in the clinical trial programme. |
Mortality incidence after severe hypoglycaemia | 1.12% mortality risk | The mortality risk was decreased to zero. |
Cost of hypoglycaemia | Derived from clinical trial programme [40] | Healthcare costs were increased and decreased by 10%. |
Insulin dose | Published literature: Vora et al. [27] Doneva et al. [35] | A sensitivity analysis was conducted assuming no difference in insulin dose between the treatments. |
Flexible dosing utility | 0.006 (Boye et al. [41]) | Several sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the impact of flexible dosing with degludec: one using an alternative utility value for flexible dosing (0.0130 [42]); one where only 50% of patients gained a utility benefit of flexible dosing; and one where there was no utility gain from dosing flexibility. |