American Heart Association In Brief: MADIT cost-effectiveness study
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
MADIT cost-effectiveness study: Preliminary results from cost-effectiveness analysis of the multicenter automatic defibrillator implantation trial (MADIT) suggest that implantable cardiac defibrillators "may represent a relatively modest investment in terms of years of life saved," University of Rochester Medical Center researchers report at AHA. The per-patient ICD cost-effectiveness ratio of $31,000 per life year saved (90% confidence level, range $74,000 to $10,000) "compares quite favorably to other cardiac interventions," researchers state. Initial MADIT results, showing that ICD therapy is beneficial in patients who have experienced myocardial infarction and nonsustained runs of ventricular tachycardia but no cardiac death or sustained tachycardia, were presented at the North American Society for Pacing and Electrophysiology meeting in May ("The Gray Sheet" May 20, I&W-1)...