Monthly Archives: July 2012

Cost Effectiveness of Wrist Angioplasty from Japan

Patient exchange in cath lab at Kihara Cardiovascular Hospital in Japan

Patient exchange in cath lab at Kihara Cardiovascular Hospital in Japan

Earlier today I reported on an important study, published online first in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. The study fed the results from 14 radial vs. femoral trials (RIVAL et al) into the cost-benefit analysis machine at Penn Medicine’s Center for Evidence-based Practice (CEP).

And the results? The transradial wrist approach to catheter-based procedures (angiograms, stents, etc.) was less expensive ($275 per procedure) and resulted in two-thirds less complications than the femoral/groin approach. Continue reading

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Filed under Clinical Trials / Studies, Cost Effectiveness, Japan, Patient Experience, Video