Ross EL, Becker JE, Linnoila JJ, et al. - Owing partly to the high cost of testing for autoimmune encephalitis (AE)-associated neuronal autoantibodies, screening for AE is not currently recommended in routine workup for first-episode psychosis (FEP). In patients with FEP, researchers here estimated the cost-effectiveness of routine serum screening for AE vs clinically targeted screening using a decision-analytic model. From previous published literature, following model parameters were drawn: the prevalence of neuronal autoantibodies in FEP (4.5%), serum autoantibody panel cost (US $291), remission probability with antipsychotics (0.58), and remission probability with immunotherapy for patients diagnosed with AE (0.85). Quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), costs, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) estimated over a 5-year horizon from the US healthcare sector and societal perspectives, were the assessed outcomes. Per findings, routine screening resulted in mean QALY gains of 0.008 among all patients and 0.174 among the subgroup of patients with neuronal autoantibodies. Overall findings suggest that in the United States, routine screening for AE may be cost-effective in patients with FEP.