--- title: "Elementary decision tree (Evans 1997)" subtitle: "Sumatriptan versus caffeine for migraine" author: "Andrew J. Sims" date: "April 2020" bibliography: "REFERENCES.bib" csl: "nature-no-et-al.csl" output: rmarkdown::html_vignette: fig_width: 7 fig_height: 5 fig_caption: true df_print: kable vignette: > %\VignetteIndexEntry{Elementary decision tree (Evans 1997)} %\VignetteEngine{knitr::rmarkdown} %\VignetteEncoding{UTF-8} --- ```{r} #| include = FALSE, #| purl = FALSE knitr::opts_chunk$set( echo = FALSE, collapse = TRUE, comment = "#>" ) ``` ```{r} #| purl = FALSE #nolint start ``` ```{r} library(rdecision) ``` ```{r} #| purl = FALSE #nolint end ``` # Introduction This vignette is an example of modelling a decision tree using the `rdecision` package. It is based on the example given by Briggs [-@briggs2006] (Box 2.3) which itself is based on a decision tree which compared oral Sumatriptan versus oral caffeine/Ergotamine for migraine [@evans1997]. In this vignette, we consider the problem from the perspective of a provincial health department. # Creating the model ## Model variables The following code defines the variables for cost, utility and effect that will be used in the model. There are 14 variables in total; 4 costs, 4 utilities and 6 probabilities. ```{r} #| echo = TRUE # Time horizon th <- as.difftime(24L, units = "hours") # model variables for cost c_sumatriptan <- 16.10 c_caffeine <- 1.32 c_ed <- 63.16 c_admission <- 1093.0 # model variables for utility u_relief_norecurrence <- 1.0 u_relief_recurrence <- 0.9 u_norelief_endures <- -0.30 u_norelief_er <- 0.1 # model variables for effect p_sumatriptan_recurrence <- 0.594 p_caffeine_recurrence <- 0.703 p_sumatriptan_relief <- 0.558 p_caffeine_relief <- 0.379 p_er <- 0.08 p_admitted <- 0.002 ``` ## Constructing the tree The following code constructs the decision tree. In the formulation used by `rdecision`, a decision tree is a form of *arborescence*, a directed graph of nodes and edges, with a single root and a unique path from the root to each leaf node. Decision trees comprise three types of node: decision, chance and leaf nodes and two types of edge: actions (whose sources are decision nodes) and reactions (whose sources are chance nodes), [see Figure 1](#tree-diagram). If the probability of traversing one reaction edge from any chance node is set to `NA_real_`, it will be calculated as 1 minus the sum of probabilities of the other reaction edges from that node when the tree is evaluated. ```{r} #| echo = TRUE # Sumatriptan branch ta <- LeafNode$new("A", utility = u_relief_norecurrence, interval = th) tb <- LeafNode$new("B", utility = u_relief_recurrence, interval = th) c3 <- ChanceNode$new() e1 <- Reaction$new( c3, ta, p = p_sumatriptan_recurrence, label = "No recurrence" ) e2 <- Reaction$new( c3, tb, p = NA_real_, cost = c_sumatriptan, label = "Relieved 2nd dose" ) td <- LeafNode$new("D", utility = u_norelief_er, interval = th) te <- LeafNode$new("E", utility = u_norelief_endures, interval = th) c7 <- ChanceNode$new() e3 <- Reaction$new(c7, td, p = NA_real_, label = "Relief") e4 <- Reaction$new( c7, te, p = p_admitted, cost = c_admission, label = "Hospitalization" ) tc <- LeafNode$new("C", utility = u_norelief_endures, interval = th) c4 <- ChanceNode$new() e5 <- Reaction$new(c4, tc, p = NA_real_, label = "Endures attack") e6 <- Reaction$new(c4, c7, p = p_er, cost = c_ed, label = "ER") c1 <- ChanceNode$new() e7 <- Reaction$new(c1, c3, p = p_sumatriptan_relief, label = "Relief") e8 <- Reaction$new(c1, c4, p = NA_real_, label = "No relief") # Caffeine/Ergotamine branch tf <- LeafNode$new("F", utility = u_relief_norecurrence, interval = th) tg <- LeafNode$new("G", utility = u_relief_recurrence, interval = th) c5 <- ChanceNode$new() e9 <- Reaction$new(c5, tf, p = p_caffeine_recurrence, label = "No recurrence") e10 <- Reaction$new( c5, tg, p = NA_real_, cost = c_caffeine, label = "Relieved 2nd dose" ) ti <- LeafNode$new("I", utility = u_norelief_er, interval = th) tj <- LeafNode$new("J", utility = u_norelief_endures, interval = th) c8 <- ChanceNode$new() e11 <- Reaction$new(c8, ti, p = NA_real_, label = "Relief") e12 <- Reaction$new( c8, tj, p = p_admitted, cost = c_admission, label = "Hospitalization" ) th <- LeafNode$new("H", utility = u_norelief_endures, interval = th) c6 <- ChanceNode$new() e13 <- Reaction$new(c6, th, p = NA_real_, label = "Endures attack") e14 <- Reaction$new(c6, c8, p = p_er, cost = c_ed, label = "ER") c2 <- ChanceNode$new() e15 <- Reaction$new(c2, c5, p = p_caffeine_relief, label = "Relief") e16 <- Reaction$new(c2, c6, p = NA_real_, label = "No relief") # decision node d1 <- DecisionNode$new("d1") e17 <- Action$new(d1, c1, cost = c_sumatriptan, label = "Sumatriptan") e18 <- Action$new(d1, c2, cost = c_caffeine, label = "Caffeine-Ergotamine") # create lists of nodes and edges V <- list( d1, c1, c2, c3, c4, c5, c6, c7, c8, ta, tb, tc, td, te, tf, tg, th, ti, tj ) E <- list( e1, e2, e3, e4, e5, e6, e7, e8, e9, e10, e11, e12, e13, e14, e15, e16, e17, e18 ) # tree dt <- DecisionTree$new(V, E) ``` ```{r} #| purl = FALSE # test that decision tree structure is as per Evans et al stopifnot( all.equal(d1$label(), "d1") ) ``` ```{r} #| results = "hide", #| fig.keep = "all", #| fig.align = "center", #| fig.cap = "Figure 1. Decision tree for the Sumatriptan model" dt$draw(border = TRUE) ``` # Running the model The method `evaluate` of decision tree objects computes the probability, cost and utility of each *strategy* for the model. A strategy is a unanimous prescription of the actions at each decision node. In this example there is a single decision node with two actions, and the strategies are simply the two forms of treatment to be compared. More complex decision trees are also possible. The paths traversed in each strategy can be evaluated individually using the method `evaluate(by = "path")`. In `rdecision` a strategy is defined as a set of action edges with one action edge per decision node. It is necessary to use the option `by = "path"` only if information about each pathway is required; normally it is sufficient to call `evaluate` which will automatically aggregate the evaluation by strategy. # Model results ## Base case The evaluation of each pathway, for each strategy, is done as follows: ```{r} #| echo = TRUE ep <- dt$evaluate(by = "path") ``` ```{r} #| purl = FALSE # test that evaluation by path is as per Box 2.3 of Briggs local({ stopifnot( all.equal(nrow(ep), 10L), setequal( colnames(ep), c( "Leaf", "d1", "Probability", "Cost", "Benefit", "Utility", "QALY", "Run" ) ), setequal(ep[, "Leaf"], LETTERS[1L : 10L]), all.equal(sum(ep[, "Probability"]), 2.0, tolerace = 0.01, scale = 1.0) ) ia <- which(ep[, "Leaf"] == "A") stopifnot( all.equal(ep[[ia, "d1"]], "Sumatriptan"), all.equal(ep[[ia, "Probability"]], 0.331, tolerance = 0.001, scale = 1.0), all.equal(ep[[ia, "Cost"]], 5.34, tolerance = 0.01, scale = 1.0), all.equal(ep[[ia, "Utility"]], 0.33, tolerance = 0.01, scale = 1.0) ) ih <- which(ep[, "Leaf"] == "H") stopifnot( all.equal(ep[[ih, "d1"]], "Caffeine-Ergotamine"), all.equal(ep[[ih, "Probability"]], 0.571, tolerance = 0.001, scale = 1.0), all.equal(ep[[ih, "Cost"]], 0.75, tolerance = 0.01, scale = 1.0), all.equal(ep[[ih, "Utility"]], -0.17, tolerance = 0.01, scale = 1.0) ) }) ``` and yields the following table: ```{r} #| echo = FALSE with(data = ep, expr = { data.frame( Leaf = Leaf, Probability = round(Probability, digits = 4L), Cost = round(Cost, digits = 2L), Utility = round(Utility, digits = 5L), stringsAsFactors = FALSE ) }) ``` There are, as expected, ten pathways (5 per strategy). The expected cost, utility and QALY (utility multiplied by the time horizon of the model) for each choice can be calculated from the table above, or by invoking the `evaluate` method of a decision tree object with the default parameter `by = "strategy"`. ```{r} #| echo = TRUE es <- dt$evaluate() ``` This gives the following result, consistent with that reported by Evans *et al* [-@evans1997]. ```{r} #| echo = FALSE with(data = es, expr = { data.frame( d1 = d1, Cost = round(Cost, digits = 2L), Utility = round(Utility, digits = 4L), QALY = round(QALY, digits = 4L), stringsAsFactors = FALSE ) }) ``` ```{r} #| echo = FALSE is <- which(es[, "d1"] == "Sumatriptan") cost_s <- es[[is, "Cost"]] utility_s <- es[[is, "Utility"]] qaly_s <- es[[is, "QALY"]] ic <- which(es[, "d1"] == "Caffeine-Ergotamine") cost_c <- es[[ic, "Cost"]] utility_c <- es[[ic, "Utility"]] qaly_c <- es[[ic, "QALY"]] delta_c <- cost_s - cost_c delta_u <- utility_s - utility_c delta_q <- qaly_s - qaly_c icer <- delta_c / delta_q ``` ```{r} #| purl = FALSE # test that evaluation by strategy is as per Evans et al stopifnot( all.equal(nrow(es), 2L), setequal( colnames(es), c("d1", "Run", "Probability", "Cost", "Benefit", "Utility", "QALY") ), setequal(es[, "d1"], c("Sumatriptan", "Caffeine-Ergotamine")), all.equal(sum(es["Probability"]), 2.0, tolerance = 0.01, scale = 1.0), all.equal(cost_s, 22.06, tolerance = 0.01, scale = 1.0), all.equal(utility_s, 0.41, tolerance = 0.01, scale = 1.0), all.equal(cost_c, 4.73, tolerance = 0.02, scale = 1.0), all.equal(utility_c, 0.20, tolerance = 0.01, scale = 1.0), icer / 29366.0 >= 0.95, icer / 29366.0 <= 1.05 ) ``` The incremental cost was $Can `r gbp(x = delta_c, p = TRUE)` (`r gbp(x = cost_s, p = TRUE)` - `r gbp(x = cost_c, p = TRUE)`) and the incremental utility was `r round(delta_u, 2L)` (`r round(utility_s, 2L)` - `r round(utility_c, 2L)`). Because the time horizon of the model was 1 day, the incremental QALYs was the incremental annual utility divided by 365, and the ICER was therefore equal to `r gbp(icer)` \$Can/QALY, within 5% of the published estimate (29,366 \$Can/QALY). ## Univariate sensitivity analysis Evans *et al* [-@evans1997] reported the ICER for various alternative values of input variables. For example (their Table VIII), they reported that the ICER was 60,839 $Can/QALY for a relative increase in effectiveness of 9.1% (i.e., when the relief from Sumatriptan was 9.1 percentage points greater than that of Caffeine-Ergotamine) and 18,950 $Can/QALY for a relative increase in effectiveness of 26.8% (these being the lower and upper confidence intervals of the estimate of effectiveness from meta-analysis). To calculate these ICERs, we set the value of the model variable `p_sumatriptan_relief`, and re-evaluate the model. The lower range of ICER (with the greater relative increase in effectiveness) is calculated as follows: ```{r} #| echo = TRUE p_sumatriptan_relief <- p_caffeine_relief + 0.268 e7$set_probability(p_sumatriptan_relief) es <- dt$evaluate() ``` ```{r} #| echo = FALSE is <- which(es[, "d1"] == "Sumatriptan") cost_s_upper <- es[[is, "Cost"]] utility_s_upper <- es[[is, "Utility"]] qaly_s_upper <- es[[is, "QALY"]] ic <- which(es[, "d1"] == "Caffeine-Ergotamine") cost_c_upper <- es[[ic, "Cost"]] utility_c_upper <- es[[ic, "Utility"]] qaly_c_upper <- es[[ic, "QALY"]] delta_c_upper <- cost_s_upper - cost_c_upper delta_u_upper <- utility_s_upper - utility_c_upper delta_q_upper <- qaly_s_upper - qaly_c_upper icer_upper <- delta_c_upper / delta_q_upper ``` ```{r} #| purl = FALSE # test that upper relief threshold ICER agrees with Evans et al stopifnot( icer_upper / 18950.0 >= 0.95, icer_upper / 18950.0 <= 1.05 ) ``` This yields the following table, from which the ICER is calculated as `r gbp(icer_upper)` \$Can/QALY, close to the published estimate of 18,950 \$Can/QALY. ```{r} #| echo = FALSE with(data = es, expr = { data.frame( d1 = d1, Cost = round(Cost, digits = 2L), Utility = round(Utility, digits = 4L), QALY = round(QALY, digits = 4L), stringsAsFactors = FALSE ) }) ``` The upper range of ICER (with the smaller relative increase in effectiveness) is calculated as follows: ```{r} #| echo = TRUE p_sumatriptan_relief <- p_caffeine_relief + 0.091 e7$set_probability(p_sumatriptan_relief) es <- dt$evaluate() ``` ```{r} #| echo = FALSE is <- which(es[, "d1"] == "Sumatriptan") cost_s_lower <- es[[is, "Cost"]] utility_s_lower <- es[[is, "Utility"]] qaly_s_lower <- es[[is, "QALY"]] ic <- which(es[, "d1"] == "Caffeine-Ergotamine") cost_c_lower <- es[[ic, "Cost"]] utility_c_lower <- es[[ic, "Utility"]] qaly_c_lower <- es[[ic, "QALY"]] delta_c_lower <- cost_s_lower - cost_c_lower delta_u_lower <- utility_s_lower - utility_c_lower delta_q_lower <- qaly_s_lower - qaly_c_lower icer_lower <- delta_c_lower / delta_q_lower ``` ```{r} #| purl = FALSE # test that lower relief threshold ICER agrees with Evans et al stopifnot( icer_lower / 60839.0 >= 0.95, icer_lower / 60839.0 <= 1.05 ) ``` This yields the following table, from which the ICER is calculated as `r gbp(icer_lower)` \$Can/QALY, close to the published estimate of 60,839 \$Can/QALY. ```{r} #| echo = FALSE with(data = es, expr = { data.frame( d1 = d1, Cost = round(Cost, digits = 2L), Utility = round(Utility, digits = 4L), QALY = round(QALY, digits = 4L), stringsAsFactors = FALSE ) }) ``` ```{r} #| purl = FALSE # test that upper and lower ICER thresholds can be replicatd with thresholding local({ # model variables with uncertainty p_sumatriptan_relief <- ConstModVar$new( "P(relief|sumatriptan)", "P", 0.558 ) # set probabilities for edges associated with model variables e7$set_probability(p_sumatriptan_relief) e15$set_probability(p_caffeine_relief) # upper 95% relief rate threshold for ICER (Table VIII) p_relief_upper <- dt$threshold( index = list(e17), ref = list(e18), outcome = "ICER", mvd = p_sumatriptan_relief$description(), a = 0.6, b = 0.7, lambda = 18950.0, tol = 0.0001 ) # lower 95% relief rate threshold for ICER (Table VIII) p_relief_lower <- dt$threshold( index = list(e17), ref = list(e18), outcome = "ICER", mvd = p_sumatriptan_relief$description(), a = 0.4, b = 0.5, lambda = 60839.0, tol = 0.0001 ) # check parameters of threshold function # mean relief rate threshold for ICER pt <- dt$threshold( index = list(e17), ref = list(e18), outcome = "ICER", mvd = p_sumatriptan_relief$description(), a = 0.5, b = 0.6, lambda = 29366.0, tol = 0.0001 ) # check values against Table VIII stopifnot( all.equal(pt, p_caffeine_relief + 0.179, tolerance = 0.02, scale = 1.0), all.equal( p_relief_upper, p_caffeine_relief + 0.268, tolerance = 0.02, scale = 1.0 ), all.equal( p_relief_lower, p_caffeine_relief + 0.091, tolerance = 0.02, scale = 1.0 ) ) }) ``` ```{r} #| purl = FALSE # test that ICERs computed by tornado function are as expected local({ # probability variables with uncertainty p_sumatriptan_relief <- ConstModVar$new( "P(relief|sumatriptan)", "P", 0.558 ) e7$set_probability(p_sumatriptan_relief) e15$set_probability(p_caffeine_relief) # cost variables with uncertainty c_sumatriptan <- GammaModVar$new( "Sumatriptan", "CAD", shape = 16.10, scale = 1.0 ) c_caffeine <- GammaModVar$new( "Caffeine", "CAD", shape = 1.32, scale = 1.0 ) e2$set_cost(c_sumatriptan) e10$set_cost(c_caffeine) e17$set_cost(c_sumatriptan) e18$set_cost(c_caffeine) # check ICER ranges in tornado diagram (branches B and G get 2nd dose) TO <- dt$tornado(index = e17, ref = e18, outcome = "ICER", draw = FALSE) c_sumatriptan$set("expected") c_caffeine$set("expected") x <- qgamma(p = 0.025, shape = 16.10, rate = 1.0) deltac <- (x - c_sumatriptan$get()) * 1.227 stopifnot( all.equal( TO[[which(TO$Description == "Sumatriptan"), "LL"]], x, tolerance = 0.01, scale = 1.0 ), all.equal( TO[[which(TO$Description == "Sumatriptan"), "outcome.min"]], (cost_s - cost_c + deltac) / delta_q, tolerance = 100.0, scale = 1.0 ) ) x <- qgamma(p = 0.975, shape = 16.10, rate = 1.0) deltac <- (x - c_sumatriptan$get()) * 1.227 stopifnot( all.equal( TO[[which(TO$Description == "Sumatriptan"), "UL"]], x, tolerance = 0.01, scale = 1.0 ), all.equal( TO[[which(TO$Description == "Sumatriptan"), "outcome.max"]], (cost_s - cost_c + deltac) / delta_q, tolerance = 100.0, scale = 1.0 ) ) x <- qgamma(p = 0.025, shape = 1.32, rate = 1.0) deltac <- (c_caffeine$get() - x) * 1.113 stopifnot( all.equal( TO[[which(TO$Description == "Caffeine"), "LL"]], x, tolerance = 0.01, scale = 1.0 ), all.equal( TO[[which(TO$Description == "Caffeine"), "outcome.min"]], (cost_s - cost_c + deltac) / delta_q, tolerance = 100.0, scale = 1.0 ) ) x <- qgamma(p = 0.975, shape = 1.32, rate = 1.0) deltac <- (c_caffeine$get() - x) * 1.113 stopifnot( all.equal( TO[[which(TO$Description == "Caffeine"), "UL"]], x, tolerance = 0.01, scale = 1.0 ), all.equal( TO[[which(TO$Description == "Caffeine"), "outcome.max"]], (cost_s - cost_c + deltac) / delta_q, tolerance = 100.0, scale = 1.0 ) ) }) ``` # References