TABLE 1.

Types of economic evaluation

Cost analysis	A straight comparison of the costs of two or more procedures
Cost-benefit analysis	A comparison of costs and benefits of two procedures, whereby both the costs and benefits are expressed in dollars
Cost-effectiveness analysis	A comparison of the costs and outcome(s) of two or more procedures, providing a value of dollars per natural unit (ie, dollars per successful reconstruction, dollars per life saved, etc)
Cost-utility analysis	A comparison of the costs and utility of two or more procedures, providing a value of dollars per quality-adjusted life year gained