Cost-effectiveness of conventional and endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms: Results of a randomized trial

Utility score over time in the first postoperative year after endovascular repair (gray line) and open repair (dashed line) with 95% confidence intervals. Area under the curve equals quality-adjusted life years.

Cost-effectiveness planes for (A) quality-adjusted life years, (B) event-free years gained, and (C) life-years gained for costs of endovascular repair (ER) and open repair (OR). The cost-effectiveness plane consists of four quadrants. A dot to the right of the y-axis means that ER yields a better outcome, whereas a dot on the left side means the OR yields a better outcome. Likewise, a dot above the x-axis means that the costs of ER are higher, whereas a dot below the x-axis implies that OR is more expensive. The lower right and upper left quadrant would indicate that both costs and effects are favorable (dominant) for ER and OR, respectively. The percentages represent the proportion of bootstrap replication in which the clinical outcome is favorable for open repair. A, The oblique line indicates a societal willingness to pay a threshold of €25,000 per quality-adjusted life year.