Abstract
Background: Hysterectomy is the most common major surgical procedure in gynaecology. The methods in mainstream practice are; total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH), non-descent vaginal hysterectomy (NDVH) and total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH). Most patients requiring hysterectomy for benign gynaecological conditions can be operated using one of these methods. The aim of this study was to study cost-effectiveness of NDVH, TLH and TAH in a low resource setting.
Methods: A pragmatic multi-centre three arm (parallel groups) RCT was done in the professorial gynaecology unit of the North Colombo Teaching Hospital, Ragama and the gynaecology unit of the District General Hospital, Mannar, Sri Lanka. Participants were patients requiring hysterectomy for non-malignant uterine causes. Exclusion criteria were uterus>14 weeks, previous pelvic surgery, medical illnesses which contraindicate laparoscopic surgery, and those requiring incontinence surgery or pelvic floor surgery. The main outcome measures were time to recover and cost. The willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold was set at USD 1000.
Results: There was no significant difference in median time to recover (inter quartile range) among TAH, NDVH and TLH which was 35 (30-45), 32 (24.5-60) and 30 (25.5-45) days respectively (p=0.37). The difference in area under the curve for quality adjusted life years (QALYs) was 1.33 and 5.21 for NDVH and TLH compared to TAH. The direct cost (median, interquartile range) of a TLH [USD 349 (322-378)] was significantly higher compared to TAH [USD 289 (264-307)] and NDVH [USD 279 (255-305)]. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for TLH was USD 12/day whereas NDVH showed a net benefit as both costs and median effect were superior to TAH. The incremental cost utility ratio (ICUR) for TLH and NDVH were 12 and 38 USD/QALY. The ICUR for TLH compared to NDVH was USD 3/per QALY. The net monetary benefit (NMB) was USD 4897 and USD 1264 for TLH and NDVH respectively.
Conclusion: Despite there being only a marginal difference among the three routes when considering time to recover, a cost-effectiveness approach using ICER, ICUR and NMB shows that alternate routes, NDVH and TLH to be superior to the conventional TAH.
Trial Registration: Sri Lanka clinical trials registry, SLCTR/2016/020 and the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, U1111-1194-8422, on 26 July 2016. Available from: http://slctr.lk/trials/515.
Keywords: Non-descent vaginal hysterectomy, total laparoscopic hysterectomy, total abdominal hysterectomy, cost-effectiveness, randomized controlled trial.
Cost-effectiveness of total laparoscopic hysterectomy and non-descent vaginal hysterectomy versus total abdominal hysterectomy: a multi-centre randomized controlled trial
