PURPOSE: To compare the costs of local anaesthesia (retrobulbar block, peribulbar block, sub-Tenon and topical) to perform phacoemulsification cataract extraction. METHODS: We studied the costs of the materials that are necessary to perform the local anaesthesia (retrobulbar block, peribulbar block, sub-Tenon and topical). We adopted the standard technique used for the Cataract Sector of the Department of Ophthalmology, ABC University. For each technique the total price of the each item to perform the above described local anaesthesia was analyzed. Prices were obtained from three different stores which sell hospitals materials and we considered for this study the item with a lower price. RESULTS: The costs of topical anaesthesia were 0.06 reais, for the retrobulbar it was 7.42 reais, 24.96 reais for the peribulbar was and 48.12 reais for the sub-Tenon. CONCLUSIONS: 1. Topical anaesthesia showed the lowest cost. 2. Retrobulbar anaesthesia showed low cost when compared with the peribulbar and sub-Tenon 3. Sub-Tenon's anaesthesia showed the highest cost.
Health care costs; Anesthesia, local; Cataract extraction; Phacoemulsification
