%0 Journal Article %T Cost effectiveness of diagnostic laparoscopy in reproductive aged females suffering from non-specific acute low abdominal pain %A Gait¨˘n %A Hernando %A Eslava-Schmalbach %A Javier %A G¨®mez %A Pio %J Revista de Salud P¨˛blica %D 2005 %I Universidad Nacional de Colombia %R 10.1590/S0124-00642005000200005 %X objective: to compare the costs and effectiveness of early laparoscopy with those of conventional diagnostic methods based on clinical and paraclinical observation and diagnostic images for ascertaining the cause of non-specific acute low abdominal pain (nsalap) in females of reproductive age from the third-party payers' (tpp) point of view. methods: population: 110 reproductive aged females suffering from nsalap. place: instituto materno infantil, perinatal and maternal attention referral hospital in bogot¨˘, colombia. research design: cost-effectiveness study of a controlled clinical trial carried out in 1998 and 1999. outcomes to be measured: effectiveness, direct medical costs (in colombian pesos and their equivalent in us dollars (usd-december 2004) from length of hospital stay, diagnostic procedures carried out, medical visits and managing complications. analysis: cost-effectiveness incremental ratio, analysing sensitivity in five different scenarios. results: early diagnostic laparoscopy was more cost-effective in 4 out of the 5 possible scenarios. savings varying from $21.875 to $69.834 (usd 9.42 and usd 30.1) were made per unit of increased effectiveness. conclusion: early diagnostic laparoscopy was cost-effective in 4 out of 5 scenarios dealing with managing nsalap in reproductive aged females. %K cost effectiveness %K cost analysis %K pelvic pain %K laparoscopy %K women's health. %U http://www.scielosp.org/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S0124-00642005000200005&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en