TY - JOUR
T1 - Treatment Options for Graves Disease
T2 - A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
AU - In, Haejin
AU - Pearce, Elizabeth N.
AU - Wong, Arthur K.
AU - Burgess, James F.
AU - McAneny, David B.
AU - Rosen, Jennifer E.
PY - 2009/8
Y1 - 2009/8
N2 - Background: First-line treatment for Graves disease is frequently 18 months of antithyroid medication (ATM). Controversy exists concerning the next best line of treatment for patients who have failed to achieve euthyroidism; options include lifelong ATM, radioactive iodine (RAI), or total thyroidectomy (TT). We aim to determine the most cost-effective option. Study Design: We performed a cost-effectiveness analysis comparing these different strategies. Treatment efficacy and complication data were derived from a literature review. Costs were examined from a health-care system perspective using actual Medicare reimbursement rates to an urban university hospital. Outcomes were measured in quality-adjusted life-years (QALY). Costs and effectiveness were converted to present values; all key variables were subjected to sensitivity analysis. Results: TT was the most cost-effective strategy, resulting in a gain of 1.32 QALYs compared with RAI (at an additional cost of $9,594) and an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $7,240/QALY. RAI was the least costly option at $23,600 but also provided the least QALY (25.08 QALY). Once the cost of TT exceeds $19,300, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of lifelong ATM and TT reverse and lifelong ATM becomes the more cost-effective strategy at $15,000/QALY. Conclusions: This is the first formal cost-effectiveness study in the US of the optimal treatment for patients with Graves disease who fail to achieve euthyroidism after 18 months of ATM. Our findings demonstrate that TT is more cost effective than RAI or lifelong ATM in these patients; this continues until the cost of TT becomes > $19,300.
AB - Background: First-line treatment for Graves disease is frequently 18 months of antithyroid medication (ATM). Controversy exists concerning the next best line of treatment for patients who have failed to achieve euthyroidism; options include lifelong ATM, radioactive iodine (RAI), or total thyroidectomy (TT). We aim to determine the most cost-effective option. Study Design: We performed a cost-effectiveness analysis comparing these different strategies. Treatment efficacy and complication data were derived from a literature review. Costs were examined from a health-care system perspective using actual Medicare reimbursement rates to an urban university hospital. Outcomes were measured in quality-adjusted life-years (QALY). Costs and effectiveness were converted to present values; all key variables were subjected to sensitivity analysis. Results: TT was the most cost-effective strategy, resulting in a gain of 1.32 QALYs compared with RAI (at an additional cost of $9,594) and an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $7,240/QALY. RAI was the least costly option at $23,600 but also provided the least QALY (25.08 QALY). Once the cost of TT exceeds $19,300, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of lifelong ATM and TT reverse and lifelong ATM becomes the more cost-effective strategy at $15,000/QALY. Conclusions: This is the first formal cost-effectiveness study in the US of the optimal treatment for patients with Graves disease who fail to achieve euthyroidism after 18 months of ATM. Our findings demonstrate that TT is more cost effective than RAI or lifelong ATM in these patients; this continues until the cost of TT becomes > $19,300.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=67650759478&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=67650759478&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2009.03.025
DO - 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2009.03.025
M3 - Article
C2 - 19632593
AN - SCOPUS:67650759478
SN - 1072-7515
VL - 209
SP - 170-179.e2
JO - Journal of the American College of Surgeons
JF - Journal of the American College of Surgeons
IS - 2
ER -