Trial reportBMC medicine2020
Septoplasty versus non-surgical management for nasal obstruction in adults with a deviated septum: economic evaluation alongside a randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in BMC medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Septoplasty versus non-surgical management for deviated nasal septum: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2025Pooled it
- Trial
- Safety and Effectiveness of a Bioabsorbable Septal Implant for Cartilaginous Nasal Septal Deviation.Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology · 2026Article
- Temperature-Controlled Radiofrequency for Severe Nasal Airway Obstruction: A Non-Inferiority Comparison With Surgical Intervention.International forum of allergy & rhinology · 2026Article
- Septoplasty Versus Non-Surgical Treatment for Deviated Nasal Septum: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Endoscopic Septoplasty-A Narrative Review of Outcomes, Complications and Patient-Reported Score.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Review
- Quality-adjusted life years and surgical waiting list: Systematic review of the literature.World journal of gastrointestinal surgery · 2024Article
- Revision Rates of Septoplasty in the United States.Facial plastic surgery & aesthetic medicineArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundFor years, the benefits of septoplasty have been questioned. Due to the scarce and inconclusive literature, several National Health Service (NHS) Clinical Commissioning Groups in England decided to add septal surgery to their list of restricted procedures with low clinical value. Recently, evidence was obtained that septoplasty is actually more effective than non-surgical management for nasal obstruction in adults with a deviated septum. However, the relation between costs and effects of septoplasty remains unknown.
methodsWe conducted an economic evaluation alongside an open, multicenter, pragmatic randomized controlled trial in two tertiary and 16 secondary referral hospitals in the Netherlands. Adults with nasal obstruction and a deviated septum were randomized to (1) septoplasty with or without concurrent turbinate surgery or (2) non-surgical management consisting of (a combination of) medical treatment and watchful waiting. Analyses were performed on an intention-to-treat basis. Single imputation nested in the bootstrap percentile method (using 5000 bootstrap replications) was performed to assess the effect of missing data. After 12 and 24 months, we assessed the incremental costs per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained from a healthcare and a societal perspective.
resultsA total of 203 adults were randomly assigned to septoplasty (N = 102) or non-surgical management (N = 101). After 12 months, the mean cost difference between septoplasty and non-surgical management using a healthcare or societal perspective was €1181 (95%CI €1038 to €1323) or €2192 per patient (95%CI €1714 to €2670), respectively. The mean QALY difference was 0.03 per patient (95%CI - 0.01 to 0.07). Incremental costs per QALY gained from a healthcare or societal perspective were €41,763 or €77,525, respectively. After 24 months, the mean cost difference between the two groups using a healthcare or societal perspective decreased to €936 (95%CI €719 to €1153) or €1671 per patient (95%CI €952 to €2390), respectively. The mean QALY difference increased to 0.05 per patient (95%CI - 0.03 to 0.14). Incremental costs per QALY gained from a healthcare or societal perspective became €17,374 or €31,024, respectively. Analyses of imputed data did not alter our findings.
conclusionsDepending on the selected perspective, cost-effectiveness threshold, and time horizon, septoplasty has the potential to be cost-effective. Despite considerable uncertainty, septoplasty seems to be cost-effective from a healthcare perspective, after 24 months against a threshold of €20,000 per QALY. From a societal perspective, septoplasty is not yet cost-effective after 24 months, but it comes closer to the cost-effectiveness threshold as time passes by.
trial registrationNederlands Trial Register, NTR3868 (https://www.trialregister.nl/trial/3698). Prospectively registered on February 21, 2013.
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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.