Cost of radiofrequency ablation for chronic venous insufficiency: a pilot study of 9 cases at a teaching hospital in Brazil.

Background: While radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is increasingly used to treat saphenous vein incompetence, its adoption in Brazil may have been hindered by the lack of evidence demonstrating sufficient added value to justify its cost-effectiveness.

Objectives: To perform RFA in 9 patients with lower extremity varicose veins and determine the procedural costs per patient at a Brazilian teaching hospital.

Methods: Nine single-use RFA catheters were purchased by the teaching hospital affiliated with our institution and used in this pilot study. Direct and indirect costs were calculated as sums of the respective cost components of the procedure based on values from the federal government's price panel. To illustrate the potential cost-effectiveness of RFA, these costs were compared to those of 9 saphenectomy procedures performed on the same day as the RFA procedures. All analyses were descriptive, with no formal statistical testing.

Results: The mean operating room hourly rate for RFA was 127.50 BRL. The costs of anesthetics/medications, materials, and single-use catheter per patient were 32.63 BRL, 81.49 BRL, and 1600.00 BRL, respectively. Patients were absent from work for < 15 days (mean, 11.44 days), not incurring sick leave payments from the Social Security Administration. The total mean cost for RFA was lower than that of same-day saphenectomy (1841.62 BRL vs 2045.40 BRL).

Conclusions: This pilot study provided essential insights into resource utilization at a Brazilian teaching hospital, with the goal of improving treatment efficiency and ensuring the best cost-benefit ratio for patients.