A decision analysis of anesthesia management for cataract surgery

To compare the trade-offs in cost and preference of various anesthesia management strategies for cataract surgery.

Six strategies, differing in sedation, local anesthetic, and monitoring approach, were chosen for comparison. For each strategy, potential complications, and conversions to different anesthesia approaches were modeled. A panel of physicians and anesthetists, well versed in the literature and practice of the anesthesia management of cataract surgery, assigned preference values to the strategies and potential outcomes (0 to 1 scale). Probability estimates were obtained from a study of 19,557 cataract surgeries and from the panel. Cost estimates were derived from several sources. The model was analyzed to determine the strategies associated with the highest expected preference and lowest expected cost.

The strategy associated with the highest net preference was intravenous sedation with block anesthesia and an anesthesiologist present throughout the case. The expected net preference for this strategy was 19% greater than the net preference for the next most preferred strategy, oral sedation with block anesthesia and an anesthesiologist on call (0.88 versus 0.74), but the expected anesthesia costs per case were much greater ($324 versus $42). Results were sensitive to plausible variation in the preference values assigned to the six initial management strategies and to the cost of topical versus block anesthesia.

This analysis emphasizes that cost and preference are important considerations when choosing an anesthesia management strategy for cataract surgery. For some surgeries, substantial cost savings may be available for a small change in preference.