Statistical methods for cost-effectiveness analysis of left-truncated and right-censored survival data with treatment delays
针对左截断右删失生存数据，提出基于分层Cox比例风险模型的增量成本效果比和增量净收益的估计与推断方法，并处理治疗延迟问题，应用于坦桑尼亚艾滋病患者治疗转换的成本效果评估。
The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) and incremental net benefit (INB) are widely used for cost-effectiveness analysis. We develop methods for estimation and inference for the ICER and INB which use the semiparametric stratified Cox proportional hazard model, allowing for adjustment for risk factors. Since in public health settings, patients often begin treatment after they become eligible, we account for delay times in treatment initiation. Excellent finite sample properties of the proposed estimator are demonstrated in an extensive simulation study under different delay scenarios. We apply the proposed method to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of switching treatments among AIDS patients in Tanzania.