Is screening for thrombophilia cost-effective?
Purpose of review: The aim of this review was to examine the current evidence on the cost-effectiveness of screening for thrombophilia. Recent findings: Few studies have attempted to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of screening for thrombophilia. The direct medical costs associated with screening, in order to detect one case of thrombophilia and indeed to prevent a subsequent venous thromboembolism, are high. Irrespective of patient groups, selective history-based thrombophilia screening has been shown to be more cost-effective than universal or unselected population screening. When comparing across the high-risk patient groups, screening women prior to prescribing combined oral contraceptives was the least cost-effective strategy. Summary: Although thrombophilia is associated with a substantial increase in relative risk of venous thromboembolism, the absolute risk and the absolute numbers of expected events, and the subsequent estimated number of prevented events remain low. Based on
