A Renal Transplantation and Hemodialysis Cost-Utility Analysis in Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine the cost-effectiveness of renal transplantation and hemodialysis among end-stage renal disease patients.Methods: Empirical data on treatment costs were collected from five hospitals in Korea. We used European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Association registry data for transition probability. Quality adjusted life year (QALY) values were derived from the literature. A Markov model was used for predicting the cost utility of transplantation and hemodialysis over a 10-year period.Results: Renal transplantation was less costly and resulted in a better outcome than hemodialysis. The cost per QALY gained was 19,450 thousand won in transplantation patients, whereas it was 36,514 thousand won per QALY gained in hemodialysis patients. Conclusions: Although the cost of the first year after transplantation was expensive, transplantation was more effective over 2 years and was less costly than hemodialysis. The results suggest that transplantation is more cost-effective than hemodialysis in Korea.Key Words: Cost-effectiveness analysis, Cost-utility analysis, Renal transplantation, Hemodialysis, End-stage renal disease (ESRD)중심 단어: 비용-효과분석, 비용-효용분석, 신장이식, 혈액투석, 말기신부전책임저자：함명일, 아산시 신창면 읍내리 646순천향대학교 의료과학대학 보건행정경영학과, 336-745Tel: 041-530-3035, Fax: 041-530-3085E-mail: hmi@sch.ac.kr접수일 : 2010년 4월 5일, 심사일 : 2010년 5월 28일게재승인일 : 2010년 7월 6일