Published online Apr 27, 2024. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v16.i4.1155
Peer-review started: December 28, 2023
First decision: January 16, 2024
Revised: January 26, 2024
Accepted: February 25, 2024
Article in press: February 25, 2024
Published online: April 27, 2024
The quality-adjusted life year (QALY) is a metric that is increasingly used today in the field of health economics to evaluate the value of different medical treatments and procedures. Surgical waiting lists (SWLs) represent a pressing problem in public healthcare. The QALY measure has rarely been used in the context of surgery. It would be interesting to know how many QALYs are lost by patients on SWLs.
To investigate the relationship between QALYs and SWLs in a systematic review of the scientific literature.
The study was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Statement. An unlimited search was carried out in PubMed, updated on January 19, 2024. Data on the following variables were investigated and analyzed: Specialty, country of study, procedure under study, scale used to measure QALYs, the use of a theoretical or real-life model, objectives of the study and items measured, the economic value assigned to the QALY in the country in question, and the results and conclusions publi
Forty-eight articles were selected for the study. No data were found regarding QALYs lost on SWLs. The specialties in which QALYs were studied the most in relation to the waiting list were urology and general surgery, with 15 articles each. The country in which the most studies of QALYs were carried out was the United States (n = 21), followed by the United Kingdom (n = 9) and Canada (n = 7). The most studied procedure was organ trans
The relationship between QALYs and SWLs has only rarely been studied in the literature. The rate of QALYs lost on SWLs has not been determined. Future research is warranted to address this issue.
Core Tip: This review determined that the quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) lost on surgical waiting lists (SWLs) have not been evaluated in the literature. The relationship between QALYs and SWLs has been described mainly in organ transplantation and in experimental models. The willingness-to-pay per QALY gained ranged from $100000 in the United States to €20000 in Spain. Future research should address this question, as the information recorded is likely to be of value to health systems that are planning investments aimed at reducing SWLs and cutting costs.