Review of cost-effectiveness analysis to study pediatric intestinal failure and transplant

Cost-effectiveness analysis is a comparative methodology used to determine how costs and benefits align for a given treatment when evaluated against one or more competing strategies. In intestinal failure, this may include direct comparisons between medical treatments vs transplant or individual care decisions. Teduglutide and antimicrobial lock therapy provide two recent examples of treatments in the United States that came under scrutiny due to cost. We demonstrate the use of cost-effectiveness analysis to critically examine these treatments in the US as an example that may be adapted to various healthcare contexts worldwide. We then discuss the required steps to employ this methodology more effectively in pediatric intestinal failure.