April 30, 2010Acta Cardiologica
Intra-cardiac echocardiography in atrial septal interventions: impact on hospitalization costs
Key result
A fictive model of intra-cardiac echocardiography without general anesthesia for atrial septal closure suggested a cost saving of EUR 881, though the catheter itself costs EUR 2000-2500.
Why the study?
Does intra-cardiac echocardiography reduce hospitalization costs compared to standard TEE with general anaesthesia in patients undergoing atrial septal closure?
Population
5 patients scheduled for percutaneous patent foramen ovale or atrial septal defect closure.
Comparison
Intra-cardiac echocardiography without… vs Standard procedure with transoesophageal…
Design
Case_series, Patients were randomly selected to use the AcuNav catheter on top…
Authors
Discussion
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Implication
Modeled savings from avoiding anesthesia fail to offset ICE catheter costs in ASD closure; hypothesis-generating and should not change practice.
Structured PICO
Does intra-cardiac echocardiography reduce hospitalization costs compared to standard TEE with general anaesthesia in patients undergoing atrial septal closure?
P
Population
5 patients (mean age 55 years, 60% female) scheduled for percutaneous closure of a patent foramen ovale or atrial septal defect.
I
Intervention
Intra-cardiac echocardiography (ICE) without transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and with local anaesthesia (fictive cost model based on actual procedures).
C
Comparator
Standard procedure with transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and general anaesthesia.
O
Outcome
Total hospitalization cost
Main Result
Mean Difference: 881
Absolute Event Rate: 8464% vs 9345%
While ICE avoids general anaesthesia in atrial septal closure, the associated hospital cost savings do not offset the high price of the single-use catheter.
Limitations
- Single-use ICE catheters remain expensive
Cite This Study
Budts et al. (2010) studied Patent foramen ovale (PFO) or atrial septal defect (ASD) (n=5). Intra-cardiac echocardiography (ICE) without general anaesthesia vs. Standard procedure with transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and general anaesthesia was evaluated on Total hospitalization cost (Cost saving EUR 881). A fictive model of intra-cardiac echocardiography without general anesthesia for atrial septal closure suggested a cost saving of EUR 881, though the catheter itself costs EUR 2000-2500.