Comparison of extended totally extra peritoneal (eTEP) vs intra peritoneal onlay mesh (IPOM) repair for management of primary and incisional hernia in terms of early outcomes and cost effectiveness-a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: There are no randomized controlled trials comparing the eTEP with IPOM repair and this randomized study was designed to compare the two techniques in terms of early pain, cost effectiveness, and quality of life. METHOD: This was a prospective randomized trial with intention to treat analysis. The primary outcome was immediate post-operative pain scores. Operative time, conversions, peri operative morbidity, hospital stay, return to daily activities, incremental cost effectiveness ratio and quality of life (WHO-QOL BREF) were secondary outcomes. RESULTS: Sixty patients were randomized equally. Early post-operative pain scores and seroma rates were significantly lower and with a significantly earlier return to activity in eTEP group (p value < 0.05). With negative costs and positive effects, eTEP group was 2.4 times more cost effective. CONCLUSION: eTEP repair is better in terms of lesser early post-operative pain, earlier return to activities and cost effectiveness in small and medium size defects.

Sevoflurane induction procedure: cost comparison between fixed 8% versus incremental techniques in pediatric patients.

This study compared 2 well-accepted and safe methods of pediatric inhalation induction using sevoflurane. Incremental and fixed 8% induction methods were evaluated for economic outcomes by comparing the amount of liquid sevoflurane consumed. We also tried to establish the relation between cost of induction and demographic parameters in both groups. One hundred pediatric patients scheduled for ophthalmologic examination under anesthesia were randomly divided into 2 equal groups. The amount of sevoflurane consumed in both groups was computed using the Dion method. Although the time to loss of consciousness was significantly lower using the 8% method (75.98 vs 135 seconds), the liquid sevoflurane consumption using the incremental method (2.25 mL) was almost half that of the fixed 8% method (4.46 mL). The overall procedural cost of induction (loss of consciousness plus intravenous cannulation and insertion of a laryngeal mask airway) was also almost double using the fixed 8% method. Use of the incremental method preferably over the fixed 8% method could save almost $18 US for each procedure. The volume of sevoflurane consumed during anesthesia induction was found to be independent of age, weight, or sex of pediatric patients. Both induction methods proved to be equally safe and acceptable to the patients.

Pharmaco-economics: Minute-based cost of sevoflurane in pediatric short procedures and its relation to demographic variables.

BACKGROUND: Inhalation agents account for significant cost of short daycare procedures. The estimation of this cost to pre-calculate expected expenditure is not available in literature. As for intravenous agents, their relations to weight and other demographic parameters are also not well established. The present study aims to evaluate the above concern. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 100 pediatric (ASA I, II) patients scheduled for ophthalmological examination under anesthesia (EUA) were included in the study. Following premedication, anesthesia in all children was induced using incremental concentrations of sevoflurane at a flow of 6 l with 1:1 oxygen:nitrous oxide ratio. Upon induction, the flows were reduced to 2 l, keeping sevoflurane at 1 to 2 minimum alveolar concentration (MAC). Using Dion's equation, the costs for induction and maintenance with sevoflurane were calculated for each patient. RESULTS: The cost per minute of sevoflurane was found to be Rs. 13.23. Unlike intravenous agents, no significant correlation was found to exist between sevoflurane consumption with age or weight. The sevoflurane consumption was also not influenced by the gender. The total cost of EUA correlated most strongly with duration of maintenance phase, followed by induction duration.