Sumatriptan products have been shown to be effective agents in treating mig
raine headaches. This month's column presents a cost-effectiveness analysis
of two different formulations of sumatriptan using a decision-tree approac
h. The analysis introduces a new concept, rank-order stability analysis (RO
SA), in assessing the sensitivity of a decision-tree model. The ROSA showed
that the results of the cost-effectiveness analysis were elastic to variat
ion in the primary clinical efficacy measure. However, because the incremen
tal cost-effectiveness ratio was not large, most health care organizations
will likely want to make both sumatriptan products available.