Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are moderately cost-effective for preventing sudden cardiac death, report researchers in the April 15 issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
In the Antiarrhythmics Versus Implantable Defibrillators (AVID) trial, the devices were shown to be superior to therapy with antiarrhythmic medications for reducing all causes of death in survivors of ventricular fibrillation, said Greg Larsen, MD, lead author and staff cardiologist at the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Oregon.
The researchers compiled data on charges for initial and repeat hospitalizations, emergency department and day surgery stays, and the costs of antiarrhythmic drugs for 1008 patients, including 505 patients with ICDs.
The charges were converted to 1997 costs. Three-year survival data from AVID were used in calculating base cost effectiveness.
At 3 years, the cost for the drug treatment group was $71 421 and for the ICDs group, it was $85 522. But ICDs . . . [Full Text of this Article]
