Abstract
No comprehensive benefit-to-cost analysis has been performed to date on a policy of routine ultrasound screening for fetal anomalies in the United States. We performed a preliminary benefit-to-cost analysis drawing upon our previous research on the cost of birth defects in the United States and upon the literature regarding (1) the sensitivity of ultrasound in detecting congenital anomalies, (2) the rate at which pregnancies are terminated upon detection of fetal anomalies, (3) the number of ultrasounds performed per pregnancy under a routine screening policy, and (4) the average cost of an ultrasound. We assumed a 100% subsequent replacement rate of terminated pregnancies with a normal child, an assumption most favorable to routine screening. The benefit-to-cost ratio ranged from .33 to 3, suggesting that a routine screening polity for fetal anomalies is of uncertain net societal benefit. Routine screening may be justified, however, based on standards that elude the methods for establishing societal benefits adopted in this analysis.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 141-153 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences |
| Volume | 847 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1998 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
Cite this
Reduced costs of congenital anomalies from fetal ultrasound : Are they sufficient to justify routine screening in the United States? / Waitzman, Norman J.; Romano, Patrick S.
In: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Vol. 847, 1998, p. 141-153.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Reduced costs of congenital anomalies from fetal ultrasound
T2 - Are they sufficient to justify routine screening in the United States?
AU - Waitzman, Norman J.
AU - Romano, Patrick S
PY - 1998
Y1 - 1998
N2 - No comprehensive benefit-to-cost analysis has been performed to date on a policy of routine ultrasound screening for fetal anomalies in the United States. We performed a preliminary benefit-to-cost analysis drawing upon our previous research on the cost of birth defects in the United States and upon the literature regarding (1) the sensitivity of ultrasound in detecting congenital anomalies, (2) the rate at which pregnancies are terminated upon detection of fetal anomalies, (3) the number of ultrasounds performed per pregnancy under a routine screening policy, and (4) the average cost of an ultrasound. We assumed a 100% subsequent replacement rate of terminated pregnancies with a normal child, an assumption most favorable to routine screening. The benefit-to-cost ratio ranged from .33 to 3, suggesting that a routine screening polity for fetal anomalies is of uncertain net societal benefit. Routine screening may be justified, however, based on standards that elude the methods for establishing societal benefits adopted in this analysis.
AB - No comprehensive benefit-to-cost analysis has been performed to date on a policy of routine ultrasound screening for fetal anomalies in the United States. We performed a preliminary benefit-to-cost analysis drawing upon our previous research on the cost of birth defects in the United States and upon the literature regarding (1) the sensitivity of ultrasound in detecting congenital anomalies, (2) the rate at which pregnancies are terminated upon detection of fetal anomalies, (3) the number of ultrasounds performed per pregnancy under a routine screening policy, and (4) the average cost of an ultrasound. We assumed a 100% subsequent replacement rate of terminated pregnancies with a normal child, an assumption most favorable to routine screening. The benefit-to-cost ratio ranged from .33 to 3, suggesting that a routine screening polity for fetal anomalies is of uncertain net societal benefit. Routine screening may be justified, however, based on standards that elude the methods for establishing societal benefits adopted in this analysis.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0031849246&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1998.tb08935.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1998.tb08935.x
M3 - Article
C2 - 9668707
AN - SCOPUS:0031849246
VL - 847
SP - 141
EP - 153
JO - Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
JF - Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
SN - 0077-8923
ER -