A Decision Analytic Approach To Cleft Palate Treatment Evaluation

Abstract

An analytic methodology, developed from the field of decision analysis, is presented for the evaluation of treatment alternatives. The management of velopharyngeal incompetence illustrates the method. Nasal quality is utilized as a primary means of measuring outcome. Results indicate that treatment alternatives can be preferentially ordered using analytic methods which incorporate costs, benefits, and probabilities of successful and unsuccessful outcomes. Extensions of the mathematical formulations are discussed in relationship to treatment outcomes.