title: A computer model for evaluating the costs of cholecystectomy or ursodiol treatment in the management of cholelithiasis.
abstract: Over 500,000 cholecystectomies are performed each year in the United States. The procedure has its risks (mortality is 1.2% in the general population and 3% in patients aged 75 years or over) and it is expensive: the average direct cost of each cholecystectomy is about $10,000, for a national total of $5 billion annually. An alternative to surgery is to dissolve the stone with ursodiol, a naturally occurring bile acid, which has been successfully used for cholesterol gallstones with a diameter less than 20 mm. A computer model was developed to compare the costs of surgery for gallstones and treatment with ursodiol. In a hypothetical health maintenance organization with one million enrollees, use of ursodiol treatment rather than cholecystectomy would result in cumulative savings of $8.5 million after one year, $30.7 million after five years, and $57.8 million after ten years.
authors.affiliation: PharmaServe, Glen Oaks, New York.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Crain
mesh_terms: D002763:Cholecystectomy / Q000191:economics*; D002769:Cholelithiasis / Q000191:economics / Q000628:therapy*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D003840:Deoxycholic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D006801:Humans; D014580:Ursodeoxycholic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D003840:Deoxycholic Acid; D014580:Ursodeoxycholic Acid