Routine operative cholangiography or pre-operative infusion cholangiography at elective cholecystectomy--a...

Previous data from our surgical department suggests that routine operative cholangiography (strategy I) can be replaced by a combination of pre-operative intravenous infusion cholangiography and selective operative cholangiography (strategy II). The general clinical results with the two strategies were similar during a follow-up period of one year. The present study compares the costs for the two strategies through cost-effectiveness analysis. The calculated average total hospital costs with the two strategies did not differ significantly. The costs obtained were SEK 9,150 for strategy I and SEK 9,430 for strategy II. These findings support the opinion that strategy II is approximately as cost-effective as strategy I in the management of patients subjected to cholecystectomy.