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James M. Ruda, MD; Brendan C. Stack, Jr, MD; Christopher S. Hollenbeak, PhD

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2006;132:46-53.

Objective  To determine whether the use of additional preoperative imaging was cost-effective compared with bilateral neck exploration (BNE) for the treatment of primary hyperparathyroidism in patients with negative findings on scans with technetium Tc 99m sestamibi.

Design  We performed a cost-effectiveness analysis. The decision whether to proceed to BNE or obtain additional preoperative imaging using ultrasonography (US) or single-photon emission computed tomography with technetium Tc 99m sestamibi (SPECT) was modeled using decision analysis. We obtained probabilities of cure, detection of pathologic glands, and the correct side of the neck from recent literature.

Main Outcome Measures  Expected cost, cure rate, and the incremental cost per cured case using the preoperative imaging strategies compared with BNE.

Results  The US strategy dominated the SPECT and BNE strategies, with a lower expected cost ($6030 vs $7131 and $8384, respectively) and a greater expected cure rate (99.42% vs 99.26% and 97.69%, respectively). Threshold analysis suggests that the preoperative imaging strategies continued to dominate unless the cost of BNE was less than $5400 or the cost of unilateral neck exploration exceeded $6500. The US strategy dominated SPECT as a preoperative imaging strategy if the cost of SPECT exceeded $12 or the cost of a US test was less than $1300.

Conclusions  For the treatment of primary hyerparathyroidism in the patient with negative findings on technetium Tc 99m sestamibi scans, a strategy that uses additional preoperative US imaging appears to be cost-effective compared with SPECT or BNE.

Author Affiliations: Departments of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio (Dr Ruda), and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock (Dr Stack); and Departments of Surgery and Health Evaluation Sciences (Dr Hollenbeak), Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey.

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