Fundamental Principles of Conducting a Surgery Economic Analysis Study

摘要

Although economic evaluation has become more popular among medical professionals, its use in surgery is still lacking. Economic evaluation is used even less so in plastic surgery in which health-related quality of life is of particular importance. The purpose of this paper, part of a tutorial series on Evidence Based Medicine, will focus on the fundamental principles of conducting a surgery economic analysis.We include the essential aspects of conducting a surgical cost-utility analysis by considering perspectives, costs, outcomes, and utilities. We also describe and give examples of how to conduct the analyses, including calculating quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and discounting, how to interpret the results, and how to report the results.Although economic analyses are not simple to conduct, a well-conducted one provides many rewards, such as recommending the adoption of a more effective treatment. For comparing and interpreting economic analysis publications, it is important that all studies use consistent methodology and report the results in a similar manner.