Economic evaluations in cataract surgery: a narrative review

Abstract

Economic evaluations are tools for assessing emerging technologies and a complement for decision-making in healthcare systems. However, this topic may not be familiar for doctors and academics, who may be confused when interpreting the results of studies using these tools. Cataract is a disease which has received special attention in healthcare systems due to its high incidence, the great impact that it could have on patients’ quality of life, and the fact that it can be definitively solved in almost all cases through cataract surgery. Historically, economic evaluations in cataract surgery have been conducted for many purposes by simply assessing whether the surgery is cost-effective for specific questions related to the implantation of multifocal intraocular lenses, surgical techniques, optimizing assessments, preventing diseases or complications, etc. Moreover, although there are systematic reviews about cataract surgery and narrative reviews introducing the concept of economic evaluations, as far as we know, no previous study has been conducted that synthesizes and integrates evidence coming from both fields. Thus, the purpose of this narrative review is to introduce doctors and academics to economic evaluation tools, to describe how these have been historically applied to cataract surgery, and to provide special considerations for the correct interpretation of economic studies.

摘要

经济评价是评估新兴技术的工具, 也是医保系统决策的补充。然而, 医生和学者对此并不熟悉, 他们在使用这些工具解释研究结果时可能会感到困惑。白内障是在医疗系统中受到特别关注的眼病, 因为其发病率高, 对患者的生活质量影响大, 几乎所有 (因白内障视力低下的) 病例都可以通过白内障手术解决。从历史上看, 白内障手术的经济评价有很多目的, 通过简单地评估手术是否具有成本效益来解决与多焦人工晶状体植入、手术技术、优化评估、预防疾病或并发症等相关的特定问题。此外, 尽管有关于白内障手术的系统综述和引入经济评价概念的综述, 但目前还没有综合和整合这两个领域证据的研究。因此, 本叙述性综述旨在向医生和学者介绍经济评价工具, 描述这些工具在历史上如何应用于白内障手术, 并提供正确解读经济研究的特别注意事项。