Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T10:40:46.477Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

UNCERTAINTY OF INCREMENTAL COST-EFFECTIVENESS RATIOS

A Comparison of Fieller and Bootstrap Confidence Intervals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 1999

Johan L. Severens
Affiliation:
University of Nijmegen
Theo M. De Boo
Affiliation:
University of Nijmegen
Emmy M. Konst
Affiliation:
University of Nijmegen

Abstract

Objective: To compare different methods to estimate the confidence interval of the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER).

Methods: The adequacy of Fieller intervals and three methods for calculating bootstrap intervals are compared based on a simulation of 10,000 trials, using data from one trial.

Results: Both Fieller and bootstrap methods lead to unsatisfactory results when the difference in effectiveness is approximately zero. Where this difference is significant, the four methods for calculating confidence intervals for ICER do not give very different results, but Fieller's interval performs best.

Conclusions: Since Fieller's confidence limits are relatively easy to compute compared with bootstrap simulations, we recommend using this method.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 1999 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)