Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. 2020 Apr 18.
OBJECTIVES: To determine if a policy of universal fetal echocardiography (echo) for IVF pregnancies is cost-effective as a screening strategy for congenital heart defects (CHDs) and to examine the cost-effectiveness of various CHD screening strategies in IVF pregnancies.STUDY DESIGN: A decision-analysis model was designed from a societal perspective with respect to the obstetric patient, to compare the cost-effectiveness of three screening strategies: (1) Anatomic-US: selective fetal echo following an abnormal detailed anatomic survey; (2) ICSI-Only: fetal echo for all pregnancies following IVF with ICSI; (3) All-IVF: fetal echo for all IVF pregnancies. The model initiated at conception and had a time horizon of 1 year post-delivery. Sensitivities and specificities for each strategy, probabilities of major and minor CHDs, and all other clinical estimates were derived from the literature. Costs, including imaging, consults, surgeries, caregiver productivity losses, were derived from the literature and Medicare databases. Effectiveness was quantified as quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) based on how the strategies would affect the quality of life of the obstetric patient. Secondary effectiveness was quantified as cases of CHD and, specifically, cases of major CHD detected.
RESULTS: The average base case cost of each strategy was: Anatomic-US $8,119, ICSI-Only $8,408, and All-IVF $8,560. The effectiveness of each strategy was: Anatomic-US 1.74487 QALYs, ICSI-Only 1.74497 QALYs, and All-IVF 1.74499 QALYs. ICSI-Only had an incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER) of $2,840,494/QALY when compared to Anatomic-US; All-IVF had an ICER of $5,962,457/QALY when compared to ICSI-Only. Both ICERs considerably exceed the standard willingness-to-pay threshold of $50,000 to $100,000 per QALY. In a secondary analysis, ICSI-Only had an ICER of $527,562 per additional case of major CHD detected when compared to Anatomic-US. All-IVF had an ICER of $790,510 per case of major CHD detected when compared to ICSI-Only. It was determined that it costs society 5 times more to detect one additional major CHD through intensive screening of all IVF pregnancies than to pay for the neonate's first year of care.
CONCLUSION: The most cost-effective screening method for CHDs in pregnancies following IVF either with or without ICSI is to obtain a fetal echo only when abnormal cardiac findings are noted on detailed anatomy scans. Routine fetal echo for all IVF pregnancies is not cost-effective. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Keywords: ICSI; IVF; congenital heart defects; cost-effectiveness; fetal echo; prenatal screening