Supplementary Material for: Global Economic Evaluation of the Reported Costs of Deep Brain Stimulation

Introduction: Despite the known benefits of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), the cost of the procedure can limit access and can vary widely. Our aim is to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the reported costs associated with DBS, as well as the variability in reporting cost-associated factors to ultimately increase patient access to this therapy. Methods: A systematic review of the literature for cost of DBS treatment was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. PubMed and Embase databases were queried. Olsen & Associates (OANDA) was used to convert all reported rates to USD. Cost was corrected for inflation using the US Bureau of Labor Statistics Inflation Calculator, correcting to April 2022. Results: Twenty-six articles on the cost of DBS surgery from 2001 to 2021 were included. The median number of patients across studies was 193, the mean reported age was 60.5+5.6 years, and median female prevalence was 38.9%. The inflation and currency adjusted mean cost of the DBS device was $21,496.07+8,944.16, the cost of surgery alone was $14,685.22+8,479.66, the total cost of surgery was $40,942.85+17,987.43, and the total cost of treatment until one year of follow-up was $47,632.27+23,067.08. There were no differences in costs observed across surgical indication or country. Conclusion: Our report describes the large variation in DBS costs and the manner of reporting costs. This lack of standardization impedes productive discourse, as comparisons are hindered by both geographic and chronological variations. Emphasis should be put on standardized reporting and analysis of reimbursement costs to better assess the variability of DBS-associated costs to make this procedure more cost-effective and address areas for improvement in order to increase patient access to DBS.