Epilepsy and Behavior publication: Cost-effectiveness of epileptic surgery compared with medical treatment in children with drug-resistant epilepsy

Max Catchpool and Associate Professor Kim Dalziel recently published their work examining the cost-effectiveness of epileptic surgery compared with medical treatment in children with drug-resistant epilepsy in Epilepsy and Behavior. 

In collaboration with Dr Simon Harvey, a paediatric neurologist, a cost-effectiveness model was created using individual patient-level costing and outcome data collected from the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne. The study found epilepsy surgery to be significantly more expensive than continued medical treatment, but it also resulted in a reduction in seizures and improvements in the health-related quality of life of patients.

The project was established thanks to a preliminary analysis performed by Rizki Tsalatshita Khair Mahardyaa a master’s student at the Centre for Health Policy in 2017.

Further details and access to the article can be found here.