This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.

To review the clinical and cost effectiveness of using endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) in diagnosing and staging lung cancer.

Current evidence indicates that endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) is an accurate and safe tool for lung cancer diagnosis and staging. The cost effectiveness of EBUS has not been formally evaluated, but findings from cost analyses showed that compared with transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA), endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) reduced the per patient staging cost by 24%. Minimal data compare EBUS to its current comparator, mediastinoscopy. Using Australian cost-analysis data, and assuming that the costs are similar in Canada, the use of EBUS-TBNA compared to conventional TBNA in Canada for NSCLC staging and diagnosing mediastinal masses could potentially save between 0.8 million and 1.3 million Canadian dollars (CAD) per year in the Canadian healthcare system.

http://www.inahta.org/Publications/Briefs-Checklist-Impact/2009/4323/