• A F Merry, W M Smith, D J Anderson, D J Emmens, and C K Choong.
• Department of Anaesthesia, Green Lane Hospital, Auckland. glanaest@ahsl.co.nz
• N. Z. Med. J. 2001 Apr 27;114(1130):179-81.

AimTo review the cost of healthcare utilisation by patients suffering from intractable angina, unsuitable for coronary revascularisation, before and after treatment with spinal cord stimulation.MethodsData were collected for eight patients treated for intractable angina with spinal cord stimulation at Green Lane Hospital before April 1999. Information on consumption of specified medica resources for the twelve months preceding implantation, the implantation period, and the twelve months following implantation was collected. Where available, data were also collected for the eighteen months preceding and following treatment.ResultsIn six patients successful permanent stimulation was established; in two it proved technically impossible to implant a stimulator. The six patients with successful stimulation spent fewer days in hospital (p=0.028) and consumed fewer resources (p=0.046) following implantation than in the period before implantation. The two patients for whom spinal cord stimulation was unsuccessful spent more days in hospital and consumed more resources in the twelve months following, than in the twelve months preceding attempted implantation. Extrapolation of data for all eight patients suggests that, on average, the cost of implanting a spinal cord stimulator will be recovered in approximately fifteen months.ConclusionSpinal cord stimulation is a cost-effective treatment for intractable angina pectoris.

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