title: Cost-minimisation analysis of endometrial thermal ablation in a day case or outpatient setting under different anaesthesia regimens.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the cost difference between a daycase endometrial thermal ablation performed under general anaesthesia and an outpatient endometrial ablation using local anaesthetic.
  
  
  METHODS
  Calculations using real reported resource use in 20 daycase procedures and 16 outpatient procedures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The costs were 1865 euros for daycase procedure versus 1065 euros for outpatient procedure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The cost of endometrial thermal ablation can be considerably minimised by taking the procedure out of the theatre and performing it under local anaesthetic instead of general anaesthesia. This setting makes endometrial thermal ablation cost-effective.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland. sari.ahonkallio@oulu.fi
authors.forename: Sari
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ahonkallio
authors.forename: Markku
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Santala
authors.forename: Hannu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Valtonen
authors.forename: Hannu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Martikainen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures / Q000191:economics*; D000758:Anesthesia / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D055356:Endometrial Ablation Techniques / Q000191:economics*; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D008595:Menorrhagia / Q000191:economics / Q000601:surgery*; D010045:Outpatients; D017060:Patient Satisfaction