A Cost-Utility Analysis of Endovascular Aneurysm Repair for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Objective: To assess medical economic adequacy of endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). Methods: Cost-utility analysis. A total of 21 patients with AAA treated at Ibaraki Prefectural Central Hospital in 2014 were divided into non-ruptured EVAR (Group E) and open surgery (OS) (Group O), and ruptured OS (Group R) groups, and hospital costs were aggregated with a medical accounting system. Mid-level hospital costs were estimated by a diagnosis-procedure-combination analysis system. Incremental life years were extrapolated from the results of randomized controlled trials in the UK (EVAR Trial 1 and 2), a life table, and the Pancreas Cancer Registry in Japan. Quality-adjusted life years (QALY) were estimated under the assumption of a certain quality weight. Results: Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of EVAR compared with the OS was calculated to be 31.0 million yen/QALY, which is economically inadequate. ICER of EVAR compared with conservative treatment was inadequate in some subgroups of extremely old patients and in patients operated for far-advanced cancer. Conclusion: EVAR is inadequate with respect to medical economics as a substitute for OS for patients in whom both procedures are available. The indication for EVAR in patients ineligible for OS should be different from that for surgery in usual patients with AAA. (This is a translation of J Jpn Coll Angiol 2016; 56: 123–130.)