Analysis of cerebrovascular aneurysm treatment cost: retrospective cohort comparison of clipping, coiling, and flow diversion.
OBJECTIVE With the continuous rise of health care costs, hospitals and health care providers must find ways to reduce costs while maintaining high-quality care. Comparing surgical and endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysms may offer direction in reducing health care costs. The Value-Driven Outcomes (VDO) database at the University of Utah identifies cost drivers and tracks changes over time. In this study, the authors evaluate specific cost drivers for surgical clipping and endovascular management (i.e., coil embolization and flow diversion) of both ruptured and unruptured intracranial aneurysms using the VDO system. METHODS The authors retrospectively reviewed surgical and endovascular treatment of ruptured and unruptured intracranial aneurysms from July 2011 to January 2017. Total cost (as a percentage of each patient's cost to the system), subcategory costs, and potential cost drivers were evaluated and analyzed. RESULTS A total of 514 aneurysms in 469 patients were treated; 273 aneurysms were surgically clipped, 102 were repaired with coiling, and 139 were addressed with flow diverter placements. Middle cerebral artery aneurysms accounted for the largest portion of cases in the clipping group (29.7%), whereas anterior communicating artery aneurysms were most frequently involved in the coiling group (30.4%) and internal carotid artery aneurysms were the majority in the flow diverter group (63.3%). Coiling (mean total cost 0.25% ± 0.20%) had a higher cost than flow diversion (mean 0.20% ± 0.16%) and clipping (mean 0.17 ± 0.14%; p = 0.0001, 1-way ANOVA). Coiling cases cost 1.5 times as much as clipping and flow diversion costs 1.2 times as much as clipping. Facility costs were the most significant contributor to intracranial clipping costs (60.2%), followed by supplies (18.3%). Supplies were the greatest cost contributor to coiling costs (43.2%), followed by facility (40.0%); similarly, supplies were the greatest portion of costs in flow diversion (57.5%), followed by facility (28.5%). Cost differences for aneurysm location, rupture status, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grade, and discharge disposition could be identified, with variability depending on surgical procedure. A multivariate analysis showed that rupture status, surgical procedure type, ASA status, discharge disposition, and year of surgery all significantly affected cost (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Facility utilization and supplies constitute the majority of total costs in aneurysm treatment strategies, but significant variation exists depending on surgical approach, rupture status, and patient discharge disposition. Developing and implementing approaches and protocols to improve resource utilization are important in reducing costs while maintaining high-quality patient care.