Cost–effectiveness analysis of rheumatic heart disease prevention strategies

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD), secondary to group A streptococcal infection is endemic in the developing as well as parts of the developed world with significant costs to the patient, and to the healthcare system. We briefly review the prevalence and cost of RHD in developed and developing nations. We subsequently develop a Markov model to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of three strategies (vs standard no prevention) for preventing RHD in a …