A cost-effectiveness analysis of reverse total shoulder arthroplasty compared with locking plates in the management of displaced proximal humerus fractures in the elderly: the DelPhi trial

• Published in: Journal of shoulder and elbow surgery 2022-10, Vol.31 (10), p.2187-2195
• Main Authors: Bjørdal, Jonas, Fraser, Alexander N., Wagle, Tone M., Kleven, Linn, Lien, Odd Arve, Eilertsen, Lars, Mader, Konrad, Apold, Hilde, Larsen, Leif Børge, Madsen, Jan-Erik, Fjalestad, Tore
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1058-2746; 1532-6500
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jse.2022.05.022

AIMTo evaluate the cost-effectiveness of surgical treatment with reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) compared with open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) with a locking plate for patients 65-85 years old with a displaced proximal humerus fracture. METHODSA cost-utility analysis was conducted alongside a multicenter randomized controlled trial, taking a health care perspective. A total of 124 patients with displaced proximal humerus fractures were randomized to treatment with RTSA (n = 64) or ORIF (n = 60) during a 2-year period. The outcome measure was quality-adjusted life years derived from the generic questionnaire 15D in an intention to treat population. The results were expressed as incremental cost-effectiveness ratios, and a probabilistic sensitivity analysis was performed to account for uncertainty in the analysis. RESULTSAt 2 years, 104 patients were eligible for analyses. The mean quality-adjusted life year was 1.24 (95% confidence interval: 1.21-1.28) in the RTSA group and 1.26 (95% confidence interval: 1.22-1.30) in the ORIF group. The mean cost in the RTSA group (€36.755 [€17,654-€55,855]) was higher than that in the ORIF group (€31.953 [€16,226-€47,279]). Using incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, ORIF was the dominant treatment. When using a probabilistic sensitivity analysis with 1000 replications, the plots were centered around origo. This indicates that there is no significant difference in cost or effect. CONCLUSIONIn the cost-utility analysis of treatment of displaced proximal humeral fractures, there were no differences between RTSA and ORIF.