Cost-effectiveness of spinal cord stimulation in patients with intractableangina

Aim. To review the cost of healthcare utilisation by patients suffering fro m intractable angina, unsuitable for coronary revascularisation, before and after treatment with spinal cord stimulation. Methods. Data were collected for eight patients treated for intractable ang ina with spinal cord stimulation at Green Lane Hospital before April 1999. Information on consumption of specified medical resources for the twelve mo nths preceding implantation, the implantation period, and the twelve months following implantation was collected. Where available, data were also coll ected for the eighteen months preceding and following treatment. Results. In six patients successful permanent stimulation was established; in two it proved technically impossible to implant a stimulator. The six pa tients with successful stimulation spent fewer days in hospital (p=0.028) a nd consumed fewer resources (p=0.046) following implantation than in the pe riod before implantation. The two patients for whom spinal cord stimulation was unsuccessful spent more days in hospital and consumed more resources i n the twelve months following, than in the twelve months preceding attempte d implantation. Extrapolation of data for all eight patients suggests that, on average, the cost of implanting a spinal cord stimulator will be recove red in approximately fifteen months. Conclusion. Spinal cord stimulation is a cost-effective treatment for intra ctable angina pectoris.