Comparing the posterolateral and the direct lateral approach for cemented hemiarthroplasty after femoral neck fracture: a cost-effectiveness analysis

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The 2 most common surgical approaches in hemiarthroplasty for hip fracture treatment are the posterolateral and the direct lateral approach. We aimed to estimate the relative cost-effectiveness of these approaches.

METHODS: We conducted an economic evaluation alongside a randomized controlled superiority trial for 6 months. The trial included 555 patients over 18 years of age with an acute femoral neck fracture. The effectiveness outcome used was quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), assessed using the EQ-5D-5L. Costs were measured through self-reported questionnaires administered at baseline, after 3 months, and after 6 months. We dealt with missing data through multiple imputation and analyzed the imputed datasets by comparing group means in costs and QALYs. A secondary analysis included adjustment for baseline imbalances through linear regression.

RESULTS: The estimated average treatment effect on the QALYs was 0.02 (95% confidence interval [CI] -0.006 to 0.046). From the healthcare and societal perspective, we found a non-significant average treatment effect on costs of 1,508 (CI -1,744 to 4,760) and 1,583 (CI -1,972 to 5,137), respectively. The probability of cost-effectiveness was 10% at a willingness-to-pay of zero, and then slowly increased to around 50% for higher willingness-to-pay values.

CONCLUSION: We found no conclusive evidence of any differences between the surgical approaches with respect to costs, QALYs, and cost-effectiveness. We therefore suggest that, from an economic viewpoint, the 2 surgical approaches should be treated as interchangeable.