Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29403664›Full record

ArticleAdvances in orthopedics2017

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Total Hip Arthroplasty Performed by a Canadian Short-Stay Surgical Team in Ecuador.

Michael Schlegelmilch, Saifee Rashiq, Barbara Moreau, Patricia Jarrín, Bach Tran, Anderson Chuck

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Advances in orthopedics, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Simultaneous versus staged bilateral total hip arthroplasty: a meta-analysis.Journal of orthopaedics and traumatology : official journal of the Italian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Michael SchlegelmilchFaculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Saifee RashiqCanadian Association of Medical Teams Abroad, Edmonton, AB, Canada.ORCID 0000-0003-1828-8789
Barbara MoreauCanadian Association of Medical Teams Abroad, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Patricia JarrínFundación Tierra Nueva, Quito, Ecuador.
Bach TranInstitute of Health Economics, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Anderson ChuckDepartment of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFew charitable overseas surgical missions produce cost-effectiveness analyses of their work.

methodsWe compared the pre- and postoperative health status for 157 total hip arthroplasty (THA) patients operated on from 2007 to 2011 attended by an annual Canadian orthopedic mission to Ecuador to determine the quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained. The costs of each mission are known. The cost per surgery was divided by the average lifetime QALYs gained to estimate an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) in Canadian dollars per QALY.

resultsThe average lifetime QALYs (95% CI) gained were 1.46 (1.4-1.5), 2.5 (2.4-2.6), and 2.9 (2.7-3.1) for unilateral, bilateral, and staged (two THAs in different years) operations, respectively. The ICERs were $4,442 for unilateral, $2,939 for bilateral, and $4392 for staged procedures. Seventy percent of the mission budget was spent on the transport and accommodation of volunteers.

conclusionTHA by a Canadian short-stay surgical team was highly cost-effective, according to criteria from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the World Health Organization. We encourage other international missions to provide similar cost-effectiveness data to enable better comparison between mission types and between mission and nonmission care.

Identifiers

PMID29403664
PMCPMC5748297

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.