Analytical approach:
The evaluation was based on data from a clinical trial. The time horizon of the analysis was five weeks, covering the time from the procedure to recovery. The authors stated that the perspective was that of the UK NHS and that they also considered general practice, patient, and societal costs.
Effectiveness data:
The effectiveness estimates were from a clinical, prospective, randomised controlled trial. The sample size was guided by power calculations and allowed for 10% loss to follow-up, with 93 patients randomised. There were 48 patients allocated to RFA and 45 to conventional surgery; 47 received RFA and 41 received conventional surgery, with no loss to follow-up. Classic parametric and non-parametric statistical tests were used to analyse the outcomes, with no adjustment for confounding. Patients were followed-up at the end of the first and fifth weeks. The main clinical effectiveness estimates were morbidity; duration of recovery; and patient satisfaction and quality of life.
Monetary benefit and utility valuations:
Not relevant.
Measure of benefit:
The measures of benefit were the time until return to normal daily activities and pain, which was measured on a visual analogue scale (VAS).
Cost data:
The resource types included in the cost analyses were: medical and nursing care in hospital, theatre costs, staffing, ablation catheter, duplex ultrasound scan, hospital stay, and out-patient visits. The other costs considered were general practice consultations and time taken to return to work and these were collected through patient interviews. The unit costs were from publicly-available reports (Personal Social Services Research Unit, 2005) and the hospital's finance department. Parametric (Student’s t-test) and non-parametric (Mann-Whitney U) statistics were used to analyse the resource use. Protocol-driven trial costs, for hospital visits, ultrasound scans, and postoperative home visits, were excluded from the analysis.
Analysis of uncertainty:
Confidence intervals were presented for the results.