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Implications of the Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial-II
TO THE EDITOR:
Dr. Al-Khatib and colleagues (1) are to be commended for their evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) in the Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial (MADIT)-II. At 20 months, mortality was 14.2% in the ICD group and 19.8% in the controls, an absolute difference of 5.6 percentage points (2). The cost of treatment in the ICD group was estimated at $131 490 compared with $40 661 in the medical therapy group—a difference of $90 829 for a gain in life-years of 1.8 years (1). The authors …
