Cost-effectiveness of epileptic surgery compared with medical treatment in children with drug-resistant epilepsy

Abstract

BackgroundEpilepsy surgery is an alternative to continued antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in children with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE). ObjectiveThe objective of the study was to measure, model, and compare the medical costs and impacts on health-related quality of life (HRQL) of epilepsy surgery versus continued medical treatment with AEDs in children with DRE. MethodsA decision analytic model was created to estimate the cost-effectiveness of epilepsy surgery relative to continued medical treatment with AEDs. The model was based on costing and effectiveness data collected from 105 children with DRE who were operated on at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. The mean cost of conducting epilepsy surgery was AU$ 61,417 per person. Effectiveness of continued medical treatment was sourced from best available literature. In the absence of published utility values for pediatric patients with epilepsy and ethical approval to contact patients directly, HRQL was estimated by four clinicians using the Child Health Utility 9 Dimension (CHU9D). Outcome measures were seizure freedom and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). ResultsThe costs over 7.6 years of follow-up were AU$ 219,297 for the surgical treatment group compared with AU$ 170,583 for the medical treatment group. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for surgically vs medical treatment was AU$ 76,538 per additional patient attaining seizure freedom and AU$ 75,541 per additional QALY gained. ConclusionEpilepsy surgery resulted in a greater reduction of seizures and improvement in HRQL but was more expensive than continued medical treatment with AEDs. Including benefits outside of a healthcare perspective would likely lead to a more compelling cost-effective argument.