Cost-effectiveness analysis for trigeminal neuralgia: Cyberknife vs microvascular decompression

Area of Science:

• Neurosurgery
• Medical Economics
• Oncology

Background:

• Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a debilitating condition often requiring invasive treatment.
• Medically unresponsive TN presents a challenge for effective and economical management.
• CyberKnife radiosurgery (CKR) and microvascular decompression (MVD) are treatment options for TN.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a preliminary cost-effectiveness analysis comparing CKR and MVD for TN.
• To evaluate the economic impact and clinical outcomes of these two procedures.

Main Methods:

• A cost-effectiveness analysis was performed from a hospital perspective.
• Direct healthcare costs for CKR and MVD were collected.
• Patient pain levels were assessed using the Barrow Neurological Institute pain intensity scoring criteria at baseline and 6-month follow-up.

Main Results:

• Twenty patients were enrolled in each arm (CKR and MVD), totaling 40 participants.
• Both CKR and MVD demonstrated equal effectiveness at the 6-month follow-up.
• CKR resulted in an average hospital cost reduction of 34% per patient compared to MVD.
• Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of these findings.

Conclusions:

• CyberKnife radiosurgery (CKR) is a cost-saving alternative to microvascular decompression (MVD) for treating trigeminal neuralgia.
• CKR offers comparable efficacy to MVD with significant economic benefits for healthcare systems.