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Epstein D, Pérez-Troncoso D, Ruiz-Adame M, Castañeda JA. Public Acceptance of Measures to Control Infectious Diseases Under Different Scenarios of Severity and Transmissibility. Value Health 2024; 27:562-569. [PMID: 38401797 DOI: 10.1016/j.jval.2024.01.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Revised: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 01/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/26/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Public health measures to control future epidemic threats of contagious disease, such as new variants of COVID-19, may be usefully informed by evidence about how acceptable they are likely to be, and the circumstances that condition this acceptance. This study considers how the acceptability of nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) might depend on scenarios about the severity and transmissibility of the disease. METHODS A telephone survey was conducted among a representative cross-sectional sample of the Spanish adult population. Each respondent was randomly assigned to 1 of 4 possible hypothetical scenarios about the severity and transmissibility of the disease. Participants' responses about the acceptability of 11 NPI under this scenario were analyzed using multivariate regression and latent class cluster analysis. RESULTS A high risk of severe disease increases the acceptability of mask wearing, social distancing outdoors, lockdown, and isolation of infected cases, close contacts, and the vulnerable. A scenario in which the disease is highly transmissible would increase the acceptability of NPI that restrict movement and isolation. Most respondents would broadly accept most NPI in situations when either the severity or transmissibility was high. CONCLUSIONS This study showed that people are more willing to accept NPIs such as mask wearing, social distancing outdoors, lockdown, and isolation in severe disease scenarios. A highly transmissible disease scenario increases the acceptability of NPIs that isolate. A majority would broadly accept NPIs to counter public health emergencies, whereas 3% to 9% of the population would always be strongly against.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Epstein
- Department of Applied Economics, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | | | - Manuel Ruiz-Adame
- Department of Applied Economics, University of Granada, Campus of Melilla, Melilla, Spain.
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Fenix-Caballero S, Sanchez-Vegas A, Alegre Del-Rey EJ, Epstein D, Garcia-Mochon L, Olry de Labry Lima A. Economic assessment of abemaciclib for the adjuvant treatment of luminal HER2- breast cancer from the perspective of the Spanish health system. Eur J Health Econ 2024:10.1007/s10198-024-01681-3. [PMID: 38647974 DOI: 10.1007/s10198-024-01681-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Abemaciclib is an oral inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 (CDK4/6). Data from the clinical trial monarchE (2023) showed improved survival from invasive disease. The aim of the present article was to conduct an economic assessment of adjuvant treatment with abemaciclib in women with luminal, HER2- and node-positive breast cancer. METHODS A Markov model was constructed with four mutually exclusive health states (disease-free, local recurrence, distal recurrence and death). Analyses were based on the clinical trial monarchE which compared an intervention group (abemaciclib + hormone therapy [HT]) with HT alone. The effectiveness measure used was quality-adjusted life years (QALY), with unit costs and utilities being obtained from existing literature. The incremental cost-utility ratio (ICUR) was used to compare the two treatment strategies. RESULTS Total costs were €98,765 and €17,935 for the abemaciclib plus HT group and the HT alone group, respectively. The health outcome was 10.076QALY for the intervention group and 9.495QALY for the control group, with the ICUR being€139,173/QALY. CONCLUSION Despite the significant gains of abemaciclib as adjuvant treatment in terms of progression-free survival, this treatment is not cost-effective for the Spanish National Health System at published prices. It may be cost-effective with an appropriate discount on the official price.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Fenix-Caballero
- Pharmacy Department, Hospital Universitario Puerto Real, Puerto Real, Spain
- Programa de doctorado en farmacia, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Adrián Sanchez-Vegas
- Medical Oncology Department, Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de Valme, Seville, Spain
| | | | - David Epstein
- Department of Applied Economics, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Leticia Garcia-Mochon
- Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP), Granada, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs. Hospitales Universitarios de Granada/Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
- CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Antonio Olry de Labry Lima
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs. Hospitales Universitarios de Granada/Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain.
- CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
- Centro Andaluz de Información del Medicamento: CADIME, Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP). Campus Universitario de Cartuja, Cuesta del Observatorio no. 4, 18010, Granada, Spain.
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Simmonds WM, Awuku Y, Barrett C, Brand M, Davidson K, Epstein D, Fredericks E, Gabriel S, Grobler S, Gounden C, Katsidzira L, Louw VJ, Naidoo V, Noel C, Ogutu E, Ramonate N, Seabi N, Setshedi M, Van Zyl J, Watermeyer G, Kassianides C. Guidance for the gastrointestinal evaluation and management of iron deficiency in Sub-Saharan Africa. S Afr Med J 2024; 114:e711. [PMID: 38525666 DOI: 10.7196/samj.2024.v114i1b.711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 03/26/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Over 30% of the world's population is anaemic, with a significant proportion of these being iron deficient. As iron deficiency (ID) anaemia in men and post-menopausal women is mostly caused by gastrointestinal blood loss or malabsorption, the initial evaluation of a patient with ID anaemia involves referral to a gastroenterologist. The current drive towards patient blood management in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)prescribes that we regulate not only the use of blood transfusion but also the management of patients in whom the cause of iron loss or inadequate iron absorption is sought. Recommendations have been developed to: (i) aid clinicians in the evaluation of suspected gastrointestinal iron loss and iron malabsorption, and often a combination of these; (ii) improve clinical outcomes for patients with gastrointestinal causes of ID; (iii) provide current, evidence-based, context-specific recommendations for use in the management of ID; and (iv) conserve resources by ensuring rational utilisation of blood and blood products. METHOD Development of the guidance document was facilitated by the Gastroenterology Foundation of Sub-Saharan Africa and the South African Gastroenterology Society. The consensus recommendations are based on a rigorous process involving 21 experts in gastroenterology and haematology in SSA. Following discussion of the scope and purpose of the guidance document among the experts, an initial review of the literature and existing guidelines was undertaken. Thereafter, draft recommendation statements were produced to fulfil the outlined purpose of the guidance document. These were reviewed in a round-table discussion and were subjected to two rounds of anonymised consensus voting by the full committee in an electronic Delphi exercise during 2022 using the online platform, Research Electronic Data Capture. Recommendations were modified by considering feedback from the previous round, and those reaching a consensus of over 80% were incorporated into the final document. Finally, 44 statements in the document were read and approved by all members of the working group. CONCLUSION The recommendations incorporate six areas, namely: general recommendations and practice, Helicobacter pylori, coeliac disease, suspected small bowel bleeding, inflammatory bowel disease, and preoperative care. Implementation of the recommendations is aimed at various levels from individual practitioners to healthcare institutions, departments and regional, district, provincial and national platforms. It is intended that the recommendations spur the development of centre-specific guidelines and that they are integrated with the relevant patient blood management protocols. Integration of the recommendations is intended to promote optimal evaluation and management of patients with ID, regardless of the presence of anaemia.
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Affiliation(s)
- W M Simmonds
- Gastroenterology Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
| | - Y Awuku
- Department of Medicine, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana.
| | - C Barrett
- School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
| | - M Brand
- Department of General Surgery, School of Medicine, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
| | - K Davidson
- Private practice, IBD nurse specialist, Cape Town, South Africa.
| | - D Epstein
- Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa.
| | - E Fredericks
- Department of Medicine, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
| | - S Gabriel
- Gastroenterology Unit, Tygerberg Hospital and Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
| | - S Grobler
- niversitas Netcare Private Hospital, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
| | - C Gounden
- Department of Gastroenterology, School of Clinical Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal and Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, Durban, South Africa.
| | - L Katsidzira
- Internal Medicine Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.
| | - V J Louw
- Division of Clinical Haematology, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa.
| | - V Naidoo
- Department of Gastroenterology, School of Clinical Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal and Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, Durban, South Africa.
| | - C Noel
- Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
| | - E Ogutu
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Nairobi and Kenyatta National Hospital, Kenya.
| | - N Ramonate
- Gastroenterology Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
| | - N Seabi
- Gastroenterology Division, Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
| | - M Setshedi
- Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa.
| | - J Van Zyl
- Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State and Netcare Universitas Private Hospital, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
| | - G Watermeyer
- Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa.
| | - C Kassianides
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town and Morningside Mediclinic, Johannesburg, South Africa.
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Rejon-Parrilla JC, Espin J, Garner S, Kniazkov S, Epstein D. Pricing and reimbursement mechanisms for advanced therapy medicinal products in 20 countries. Front Pharmacol 2023; 14:1199500. [PMID: 38089054 PMCID: PMC10715052 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1199500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products are a type of therapies that, in some cases, hold great potential for patients without an effective current therapeutic approach but they also present multiple challenges to payers. While there are many theoretical papers on pricing and reimbursement (P&R) options, original empirical research is very scarce. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive international review of regulatory and P&R decisions taken for all ATMPs with centralized European marketing authorization in March 2022. Methods: A survey was distributed in July 2022 to representatives of 46 countries. Results: Responses were received from 20 countries out of 46 (43.5%). 14 countries reimbursed at least one ATMP. Six countries in this survey reimbursed no ATMPs. Conclusion: Access to ATMPs is uneven across the countries included in this study. This arises from regulatory differences, commercial decisions by marketing authorization holders, and the divergent assessment processes and criteria applied by payers. Moving towards greater equality of access will require cooperation between countries and stakeholders, for example, through the WHO Regional Office for Europe's Access to Novel Medicines Platform.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Carlos Rejon-Parrilla
- Health Technology Assessment Area (AETSA), Andalusian Public Foundation Progress and Health (FPS), Seville, Spain
| | - Jaime Espin
- Andalusian School of Public Health, Granada, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs, Granada, Spain
- CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
- Cátedra de Economía de la Salud y Dirección de Organizaciones Sanitarias (Esalud2), Granada, Spain
| | - Sarah Garner
- World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Stanislav Kniazkov
- World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - David Epstein
- Department of Applied Economics, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
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5
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Rodriguez-Nava G, Epstein D, Nelson J. Sternal wound infection with Mycoplasma salivarium following bilateral lung transplant. Transpl Infect Dis 2023; 25:e14120. [PMID: 37622411 DOI: 10.1111/tid.14120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Guillermo Rodriguez-Nava
- Division of Infectious Diseases & Geographic Medicine, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - David Epstein
- Division of Infectious Diseases & Geographic Medicine, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Joanna Nelson
- Division of Infectious Diseases & Geographic Medicine, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
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Almog G, Pfeffer RM, Zalmanov-Faermann S, Greenberg V, Lipsky Y, Chernomordikov E, Levin D, Arsenault O, Epstein D, Tamimi Q, Hod K, Limon D, Golan T, Ben-Aharon I, Lawrence Y, Ben-David MA. Pancreatic Cancer Outcome: Local Treatment with Radiation Using MRI-Linac. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2023; 117:e285. [PMID: 37785060 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2023.06.1271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/04/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S) Stereotactic MR-guided on-table adaptive radiotherapy (SMART) is a surging modality in radiotherapy, delivering high dose radiation to the tumor in great proximity to susceptible organs. The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical outcome in locally advanced or recurrent pancreatic tumors with or without prior irradiation. MATERIALS/METHODS All consecutive patients were treated in our center for pancreatic cancer (PC) using SMART technology to a prescription of 50Gy (BED10 100 Gy1o) in 5 fractions, with daily on-table adaptation of treatment plan. Endpoints for this retrospective, single center, IRB approved study were local control, overall survival, local disease-free period, acute and late toxicities. RESULTS Fifty-four PC patients were treated between 8.2019-9.2022, with median follow-up of 8.9 months from SMART (0.8-34 months). Forty patients had upfront inoperable PC (45% were metastatic at RT, five treated to liver metastatic lesions concomitantly) and fourteen patients had local recurrence following prior pancreatectomy, six of them had prior adjuvant RT. 87% received at least one round of chemotherapy (Oxaliplatin based- 72%), 25% received ≥2 regimens. Mean age was 68.9 (45-86) years. There was no significant difference in baseline parameters between prior pancreatectomy and inoperable groups. On-table adaptive replanning was performed for 100% of all (269) fractions (one patient received 4 fractions). No patient reported grade ≥2 acute GI toxicity. Six patients reported fatigue at the end of RT, four of them had prior radiation. Forty-eight patients were available for evaluation. Complete local control was achieved in 21.7% (10 patients) for median of 9 months (2.8-28.8 months), three had later local progression. Eight patients had regional or marginal recurrence following treatment. 6-months and 12-months OS was 75% and 52%, respectively. There was no significant difference in toxicity and outcome between post-pancreatectomy and inoperable groups. CONCLUSION Pancreatic cancer local ablative SMART is safe, with minimal treatment-related toxicity, even in previously irradiated patients. Local control with complete response was achieved by 20% of patients. Further studies are needed to evaluate long-term outcome and late toxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Almog
- Goldman School of Medicine, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel, Beer Sheva, Israel
| | | | | | | | - Y Lipsky
- Assuta Medical Centers, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - E Chernomordikov
- Radiation Oncology Department, Assuta Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - D Levin
- Assuta Medical Centers, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | | | - D Epstein
- Assuta Medical Centers, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Q Tamimi
- Assuta Medical Centers, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - K Hod
- Assuta Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - D Limon
- Tel Aviv University Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - T Golan
- Department Medical Oncology, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - I Ben-Aharon
- Fishman Oncology Center, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel, Haifa, Israel
| | - Y Lawrence
- Radiation Oncology, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - M A Ben-David
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Assuta Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel
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7
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Špacírová Z, Kaptoge S, García-Mochón L, Rodríguez Barranco M, Sánchez Pérez MJ, Bondonno NP, Tjønneland A, Weiderpass E, Grioni S, Espín J, Sacerdote C, Schiborn C, Masala G, Colorado-Yohar SM, Kim L, Moons KGM, Engström G, Schulze MB, Bresson L, Moreno-Iribas C, Epstein D. The cost-effectiveness of a uniform versus age-based threshold for one-off screening for prevention of cardiovascular disease. Eur J Health Econ 2023; 24:1033-1045. [PMID: 36239877 DOI: 10.1007/s10198-022-01533-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The objective of this article was to assess the cost-effectiveness of screening strategies for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). A decision analytic model was constructed to estimate the costs and benefits of one-off screening strategies differentiated by screening age, sex and the threshold for initiating statin therapy ("uniform" or "age-adjusted") from the Spanish NHS perspective. The age-adjusted thresholds were configured so that the same number of people at high risk would be treated as under the uniform threshold. Health benefit was measured in quality-adjusted life years (QALY). Transition rates were estimated from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-CVD), a large multicentre nested case-cohort study with 12 years of follow-up. Unit costs of primary care, hospitalizations and CVD care were taken from the Spanish health system. Univariate and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were employed. The comparator was no systematic screening program. The base case model showed that the most efficient one-off strategy is to screen both men and women at 40 years old using a uniform risk threshold for initiating statin treatment (Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio of €3,274/QALY and €6,085/QALY for men and women, respectively). Re-allocating statin treatment towards younger individuals at high risk for their age and sex would not offset the benefit obtained using those same resources to treat older individuals. Results are sensitive to assumptions about CVD incidence rates. To conclude, one-off screening for CVD using a uniform risk threshold appears cost-effective compared with no systematic screening. These results should be evaluated in clinical studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zuzana Špacírová
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Avda Monforte de Lemos 3-5, 28029, Madrid, Spain.
- Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP), Cuesta del Observatorio 4. Campus Universitario de Cartuja, 18011, Granada, Spain.
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria Ibs.Granada, 18012, Granada, Spain.
| | - Stephen Kaptoge
- Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, Strangeways Research Laboratory, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, 2 Worts' Causeway, Cambridge, CB1 8RN, UK
| | - Leticia García-Mochón
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Avda Monforte de Lemos 3-5, 28029, Madrid, Spain
- Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP), Cuesta del Observatorio 4. Campus Universitario de Cartuja, 18011, Granada, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria Ibs.Granada, 18012, Granada, Spain
| | - Miguel Rodríguez Barranco
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Avda Monforte de Lemos 3-5, 28029, Madrid, Spain
- Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP), Cuesta del Observatorio 4. Campus Universitario de Cartuja, 18011, Granada, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria Ibs.Granada, 18012, Granada, Spain
| | - María José Sánchez Pérez
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Avda Monforte de Lemos 3-5, 28029, Madrid, Spain
- Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP), Cuesta del Observatorio 4. Campus Universitario de Cartuja, 18011, Granada, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria Ibs.Granada, 18012, Granada, Spain
- Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Granada, 18071, Granada, Spain
| | - Nicola P Bondonno
- The Danish Cancer Society Research Centre, Strandboulevarden 49, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Institute for Nutrition Research, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Dr, Perth, 6027, Australia
| | - Anne Tjønneland
- The Danish Cancer Society Research Centre, Strandboulevarden 49, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Elisabete Weiderpass
- International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization, Lyon, France
| | - Sara Grioni
- Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori di Milano, Via Venezian 1, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - Jaime Espín
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Avda Monforte de Lemos 3-5, 28029, Madrid, Spain
- Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP), Cuesta del Observatorio 4. Campus Universitario de Cartuja, 18011, Granada, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria Ibs.Granada, 18012, Granada, Spain
| | - Carlotta Sacerdote
- Unit of Cancer Epidemiology, Città della Salute e della Scienza University-Hospital, Via Santena 7, 10126, Turin, Italy
| | - Catarina Schiborn
- Department of Molecular Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE), Arthur-Scheunert-Allee 114-116, 14558, Nuthetal, Germany
- German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Munich, Germany
| | - Giovanna Masala
- Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Institute for Cancer Research, Prevention and Clinical Network - ISPRO, Florence, Italy
| | - Sandra M Colorado-Yohar
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Avda Monforte de Lemos 3-5, 28029, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Epidemiology, Murcia Regional Health Council, Murcia, Spain
- Research Group on Demography and Health, National Faculty of Public Health, Univesity of Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
| | - Lois Kim
- Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, Strangeways Research Laboratory, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, 2 Worts' Causeway, Cambridge, CB1 8RN, UK
| | - Karel G M Moons
- Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, UMC Utrecht, Trecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Gunnar Engström
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
| | - Matthias B Schulze
- Department of Molecular Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbruecke (DIfE), Arthur-Scheunert-Allee 114-116, 14558, Nuthetal, Germany
- German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Munich, Germany
- Institute of Nutritional Science, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Léa Bresson
- Ubisoft France, Floresco, 2 Avenue Pasteur, 94160, Saint-Mandé, France
| | | | - David Epstein
- IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, Pamplona, Spain
- University of Granada, Granada, Spain
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Hoskins T, Patel J, Choi JH, Fitzpatrick B, Begley B, Mazzei CJ, Harrington CJ, Miller JM, Wittig JC, Epstein D. Mini-Open Achilles Tendon Repair: Improving Outcomes While Decreasing Complications. Foot Ankle Spec 2023; 16:363-369. [PMID: 35249403 DOI: 10.1177/19386400221078671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
An acute rupture of the Achilles tendon is a traumatic injury that can cause considerable morbidity and reduced function. Nonoperative intervention may put patients at higher risk of rerupture, whereas surgical intervention carries risk of infection, wound complications, and iatrogenic nerve injury. The mini-open Achilles tendon repair technique has been popularized in helping decrease complications. The goal of this study was to examine and compare the functional outcomes and rate of complications in patients treated with a mini-open repair technique versus a traditional open repair for acute Achilles tendon ruptures. A retrospective review was performed of all patients with a complete Achilles tendon rupture that were treated by a single foot and ankle fellowship-trained surgeon. Functional outcome scores were assessed using the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle scoring system (AOFAS) and the Achilles Tendon Rupture Score (ATRS). Eighty-one patients with a complete Achilles tendon rupture underwent mini-open repair and 22 patients underwent traditional open repair surgery between 2013 and 2020. The mean follow-up was 38.40 months (range, 12-71). Mean preoperative AOFAS and ATRS improved in the mini-open group from 45.60 and 47.18 respectively, to 90.29 and 87.97 after surgery (p < .05). Mean preoperative AOFAS and ATRS scores for the traditional open repair (n = 22) cohort were 44.02 and 42.27, respectively. Postoperatively, the AOFAS and ATRS scores improved to 85.27 and 86.64 (P value < .05), respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in postoperative ATRS scores. However, the mini-open repair group showed a statistically higher postoperative AOFAS score (90.30) than the traditional open-repair group (85.27) (P value < .05). The overall complication rate for our study was 2.9% (2 mini-open repair and 1 traditional open repair). The complication rate in the mini-open repair group and traditional open repair cohort were 2.4% and 4.5%, respectively (P value > .05). One patient in the mini-open repair cohort (1.2%) reruptured his Achilles tendon 4 months postoperatively. A second patient in the mini-open repair group (1.2%) developed a superficial skin infection and suture irritation. One patient (4.5%) in the traditional open repair group developed a superficial skin infection. There were no sural nerve injuries in our series. The mini-open approach to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon is a viable treatment option to decrease the incidence rate of postoperative complications and rerupture rates while also producing a superior cosmetic result.Level of Evidence: 3 (retrospective cohort study N ≥ 30).
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler Hoskins
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Morristown Medical Center, Atlantic Health System, Morristown, New Jersey
| | - Jay Patel
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Morristown Medical Center, Atlantic Health System, Morristown, New Jersey
| | - Joseph H Choi
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, St. Joseph's Medical Center, Paterson, New Jersey
| | - Brendan Fitzpatrick
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Morristown Medical Center, Atlantic Health System, Morristown, New Jersey
| | - Brian Begley
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Morristown Medical Center, Atlantic Health System, Morristown, New Jersey
| | - Chris J Mazzei
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Morristown Medical Center, Atlantic Health System, Morristown, New Jersey
| | - Colin J Harrington
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Morristown Medical Center, Atlantic Health System, Morristown, New Jersey
| | - Justin M Miller
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Morristown Medical Center, Atlantic Health System, Morristown, New Jersey
| | - James C Wittig
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Morristown Medical Center, Atlantic Health System, Morristown, New Jersey
| | - David Epstein
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Morristown Medical Center, Atlantic Health System, Morristown, New Jersey
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9
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Tahiri M, Goh KL, Abbas Z, Epstein D, Min-Hu C, Mulder CJJ, Puri AS, Schultz M, LeMair A, Melberg J. Digestive Tract Tuberculosis Guideline. J Clin Gastroenterol 2023; 57:643-650. [PMID: 37428083 DOI: 10.1097/mcg.0000000000001819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Khean-Lee Goh
- University of Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Zaigham Abbas
- Ziauddin University Hospital Clifton, Karachi, Pakistan
| | | | - Chen Min-Hu
- The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | | | | | - Michael Schultz
- University of Otago, Dunedin School of Medicine, Dunedin, New Zealand
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10
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Gimeno-Ballester V, Perez-Troncoso D, Olry-Labry A, Epstein D. INES: Interactive tool for construction and extrapolation of partitioned survival models. Cost Eff Resour Alloc 2023; 21:48. [PMID: 37525183 PMCID: PMC10391963 DOI: 10.1186/s12962-023-00456-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND INES (INteractive model for Extrapolation of Survival and cost) provides an open-access tool powered by R that implements three-state partitioned survival models (PSM). This article describes the properties of the tool, and the situations where INES may or may not be suitable. METHODS INES is designed to be used by investigators or healthcare professionals who have a good grasp of the principles of economic evaluation and understand the strengths and weaknesses of partitioned survival models, but are not sufficiently familiar with a statistical package such as Excel or R to be able to construct and test a de-novo PSM themselves. INES is delivered to the user via a batch file. Once downloaded to the user's hard drive, it interacts with the user via a portable version of R with web interactivity built in Shiny. INES requires absolutely no knowledge of R and the user does not need to have R or any of its dependences installed. Hence the user will deal with a standalone Shiny app. Inputs (digitalized survival curves, unit costs, posology, hazard ratios, discount rate) can be uploaded from a template spreadsheet. RESULTS The INES application provides a seamlessly integrated package for estimating a set of parametric hazard functions for progression free and overall survival, selecting an appropriate function from this menu, and applying this as an input to a PSM to calculate mean costs and quality-adjusted life years. Examples are given that may serve as a tutorial. CONCLUSION INES offers a rapid, flexible, robust and transparent tool for parametric survival analysis and calculating a PSM that can be used in many different contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Antonio Olry-Labry
- Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública, Granada, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Granada, Spain
| | - David Epstein
- Ministry of Health, Madrid, Spain.
- Department of Applied Economics, University of Granada, 18071, Granada, Spain.
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11
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Hoskins T, Barr S, Begley B, Fitzpatrick B, Senat S, Patel J, Heiman E, Mazzei C, Miller J, Wittig J, Epstein D. Synthetic cartilage implant hemiarthroplasty versus cheilectomy for the treatment of hallux rigidus. Eur J Orthop Surg Traumatol 2023:10.1007/s00590-022-03469-8. [PMID: 36652016 DOI: 10.1007/s00590-022-03469-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Degenerative arthritis of the first metatarsophalangeal joint, hallux rigidus, is the most common type of arthritis of the foot, affecting nearly 2.5% of the population over the age of 50. Hallux rigidus can be treated surgically with either Cheilectomy or Synthetic cartilage implant (SCI) hemiarthroplasty. The purpose of this study is to compare outcomes from a single institution on the treatment of hallux rigidus using cheilectomy and SCI hemiarthroplasty. Between 2012 and 2020, 49 patients underwent either a SCI (Polyvinyl alcohol hydrogels) hemiarthroplasty or Cheilectomy for the treatment of hallux rigidus. Functional scores were assessed pre and postoperatively using the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle scoring System (AOFAS) and the Foot and Ankle Outcome Score survey (FAOS). Plantar and Dorsal range of motion was also assessed pre and postoperatively. Outcomes, complications, and any reoperations were recorded for all patients. Mean pre-op AOFAS for Cheilectomy and SCI were 49.6 and 54.8, respectively, compared to 85.3 and 89.7, respectively, after surgery (p value < 0.05). Mean pre-op Dorsal range of motion (ROM) for Cheilectomy and SCI were 24.0 and 26.0 degrees, respectively, compared to 38.0 and 42.6 degrees, respectively, after surgery (p value < 0.05). SCI hemiarthroplasty patients had higher AOFAS and dorsal ROM at the latest follow up (p value < 0.05). Synthetic cartilage implant (SCI) hemiarthroplasty and cheilectomy both offer promising results and remain viable treatment options to decrease pain, improve function, and maintain motion for hallux rigidus. SCI hemiarthroplasty may offer superior range of motion and functional outcomes than cheilectomy for hallux rigidus. LEVEL OF CLINICAL EVIDENCE: 3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler Hoskins
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery Morristown Medical Center, Morristown, NJ, USA
| | - Stephen Barr
- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Brian Begley
- Cooper Medical School of Rowan University, 21 Braidburn Way Morristown, Camden, NJ, 07960, USA.
| | | | - Schamma Senat
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery Morristown Medical Center, Morristown, NJ, USA
| | - Jay Patel
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery Morristown Medical Center, Morristown, NJ, USA
| | - Erick Heiman
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery Morristown Medical Center, Morristown, NJ, USA
| | - Christopher Mazzei
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery Morristown Medical Center, Morristown, NJ, USA
| | - Justin Miller
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery Morristown Medical Center, Morristown, NJ, USA
| | - James Wittig
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery Morristown Medical Center, Morristown, NJ, USA
| | - David Epstein
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery Morristown Medical Center, Morristown, NJ, USA
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Machin M, Peerbux S, Whittley S, Hunt BJ, Everington T, Gohel M, Norrie J, Epstein D, Warwick DJ, Baker C, Hamady Z, Smith S, Bolton L, Stephens-Boal A, Gray B, Shalhoub J, Davies AH. Examining the benefit of graduated compression stockings in the prevention of hospital-associated venous thromboembolism in low-risk surgical patients: a multicentre cluster randomised controlled trial (PETS trial). BMJ Open 2023; 13:e069802. [PMID: 36653057 PMCID: PMC9853211 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-069802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Hospital-acquired thrombosis (HAT) is defined as any venous thromboembolism (VTE)-related event during a hospital admission or occurring up to 90 days post discharge, and is associated with significant morbidity, mortality and healthcare-associated costs. Although surgery is an established risk factor for VTE, operations with a short hospital stay (<48 hours) and that permit early ambulation are associated with a low risk of VTE. Many patients undergoing short-stay surgical procedures and who are at low risk of VTE are treated with graduated compression stockings (GCS). However, evidence for the use of GCS in VTE prevention for this cohort is poor. METHODS AND ANALYSIS A multicentre, cluster randomised controlled trial which aims to determine whether GCS are superior in comparison to no GCS in the prevention of VTE for surgical patients undergoing short-stay procedures assessed to be at low risk of VTE. A total of 50 sites (21 472 participants) will be randomised to either intervention (GCS) or control (no GCS). Adult participants (18-59 years) who undergo short-stay surgical procedures and are assessed as low risk of VTE will be included in the study. Participants will provide consent to be contacted for follow-up at 7-days and 90-days postsurgical procedure. The primary outcome is the rate of symptomatic VTE, that is, deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism during admission or within 90 days. Secondary outcomes include healthcare costs and changes in quality of life. The main analysis will be according to the intention-to-treat principle and will compare the rates of VTE at 90 days, measured at an individual level, using hierarchical (multilevel) logistic regression. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION Ethical approval was granted by the Camden and Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee (22/LO/0390). Findings will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at national and international conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER ISRCTN13908683.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Machin
- Section of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Charing Cross Hospital, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Imperial Vascular Unit, St Mary's Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK
| | - Sarrah Peerbux
- Section of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Charing Cross Hospital, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Sarah Whittley
- Section of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Charing Cross Hospital, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Beverley J Hunt
- Thrombosis & Haemophilia Centre, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | | | - Manjit Gohel
- Department of Vascular Surgery, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK
| | - John Norrie
- Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, Edinburgh Clinical Trials Unit, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - David Epstein
- Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - David J Warwick
- University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
| | - Christopher Baker
- Imperial Vascular Unit, St Mary's Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK
| | - Zaed Hamady
- General Surgery, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
| | - Sasha Smith
- Section of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Charing Cross Hospital, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Layla Bolton
- Imperial Vascular Unit, St Mary's Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK
| | - Annya Stephens-Boal
- Section of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Charing Cross Hospital, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Beverley Gray
- Section of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Charing Cross Hospital, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Joseph Shalhoub
- Section of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Charing Cross Hospital, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Imperial Vascular Unit, St Mary's Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK
| | - Alun Huw Davies
- Section of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Charing Cross Hospital, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Imperial Vascular Unit, St Mary's Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK
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13
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Perez-Troncoso D, Epstein D, Davies AH, Thapar A. Cost-effectiveness of carotid endarterectomy in symptomatic patients. Br J Surg 2023; 110:193-199. [PMID: 36422995 DOI: 10.1093/bjs/znac386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Revised: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Medical therapy for stroke prevention has improved significantly over the past 30 years. Recent analyses of medically treated cohorts have suggested that early rates of stroke may have reduced, and reports of the safety of carotid surgery have also shown improvements. Since the effectiveness of carotid surgery versus medical therapy was established in the 1990s, there is an urgent need to evaluate whether surgery remains cost-effective in the UK. METHODS A decision model was developed to estimate the lifetime costs and utilities of modern medical therapy with and without carotid endarterectomy in patients with symptomatic stenosis from the perspective of the UK National Health Service. The base-case population consisted of adults aged 70 years with 70-99 per cent stenosis. Model data were obtained from clinical studies and wider literature. Univariate and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were carried out. RESULTS In the base-case scenario, the 5-year absolute risk reduction with carotid endarterectomy was 5 per cent, and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was €12 021 (exchange rate £1 GBP = €1.1125 (Tuesday 1 January 2019)) per quality-adjusted life-year. Surgery was more cost-effective if performed rapidly after presentation. In patients with 50-69 per cent carotid stenosis, surgery appeared less clinically effective. However, there was considerable uncertainty. CONCLUSION Surgery may not now be clinically effective and cost-effective in those with moderate carotid stenosis. However, these results are uncertain because of the limited data on modern medical therapy and an RCT may be justified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Perez-Troncoso
- Health Technology Assessment and Quality of Care Area, Agency for Health Quality and Assessment of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain
| | - David Epstein
- Department Applied Economics, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Alun Huw Davies
- Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Ankur Thapar
- Mid and South Essex Vascular Unit, Mid and South Essex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Essex, England.,Centre for Circulatory Health, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, England
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14
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Olry de Labry-Lima A, Ponce-Polo A, García-Mochón L, Ortega-Ortega M, Pérez-Troncoso D, Epstein D. Challenges for Economic Evaluations of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products: A Systematic Review. Value Health 2023; 26:138-150. [PMID: 36031480 DOI: 10.1016/j.jval.2022.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2021] [Revised: 06/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) are drugs for human use for the treatment of chronic, degenerative, or life-threatening diseases that are based on genes, tissues, or cells. This article aimed to identify and critically review published economic analyses of ATMPs. METHODS A systematic review of economic analyses of ATMPs was undertaken. Study characteristics, design, sources of data, resources and unit costs, modeling and extrapolation methods, study results, and sensitivity analyses were assessed. RESULTS A total of 46 economic analyses of ATMP (from 45 articles) were included; 4 were cell therapy medicinal products, 33 gene therapy medicinal products, and 9 tissue-engineered products. 30 therapies had commercial marketing approval; 39 studies were cost-utility analysis, 5 were cost-effectiveness analysis, and 2 were cost only studies. Four studies predicted that the ATMP offered a step change in the management of the condition and 10 studies estimated that the ATMP would offer a lower mean cost. CONCLUSIONS Comparison with historical controls, pooling of data, and use of techniques such as mixture cure fraction models should be used cautiously. Sensitivity analyses should be used across a plausible range of prices. Clinical studies need to be designed to align with health technology assessment requirements, including generic quality of life, and payers should aim for clarity of criteria. Regulators and national payers should aim for compatibility of registers to allow interchange of data. Given the increasing reliance on industry-funded economic analyses, careful critical review is recommended.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Olry de Labry-Lima
- Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública, Granada, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria Ibs, Granada, Spain; CIBER en Epidemiología and Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain
| | - Angela Ponce-Polo
- Andalusian Network for the Design & Translation of Advanced Therapies, Sevilla, Spain.
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15
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Špacírová Z, Epstein D, Espín J. Are costs derived from diagnosis-related groups suitable for use in economic evaluations? A comparison across nine European countries in the European Healthcare and Social Cost Database. Eur J Health Econ 2022; 23:1563-1575. [PMID: 35217963 DOI: 10.1007/s10198-022-01444-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Economic evaluation of health technologies requires healthcare resources, procedures and services to be valued at their opportunity cost. In practice, many economic evaluation studies use official databases of hospital Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRGs) as inputs where unit costs are required. This study describes the available data on costs of hospital DRG from official, publicly available sources in nine European countries (England, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden), critically examines and compares the methodologies used to construct these databases and comments on the appropriateness of such unit cost data for economic evaluation. METHODS A standardized semi-structured questionnaire was developed in order to obtain both official publicly available sources of inpatient DRG databases and documents explaining the costing methodology used in calculation of unit costs available in those databases. RESULTS England stands out as a benchmark in terms of good practice. Other countries face more challenges in one or more items, whether in documenting and auditing processes, guaranteeing methodological rigour, including all relevant economic items such as depreciation of buildings and equipment and capital costs, conducting the process annually and completely, publishing the costs as well as tariffs and recognising sampling uncertainty or variation. CONCLUSION Analysts should evaluate carefully whether DRG costs or tariffs published in each country are appropriate for use in economic evaluation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zuzana Špacírová
- Andalusian School of Public Health/Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP), Cuesta del Observatorio 4, 18011, Granada, Spain.
- CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP)/CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria Ibs, Granada, Spain.
| | | | - Jaime Espín
- Andalusian School of Public Health/Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP), Cuesta del Observatorio 4, 18011, Granada, Spain
- CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP)/CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria Ibs, Granada, Spain
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16
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Nilsson M, Kolagari HT, Epstein D, Samolov B, Olsson M, Naess K, Oscarson M, Teaer Fahnehjelm K. Visual outcome, ocular findings, and visual quality of life in patients with Fabry disease. Ophthalmic Genet 2022; 43:841-849. [PMID: 36325813 DOI: 10.1080/13816810.2022.2132515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Fabry disease (FD) is an X-linked lysosomal disease, in which diagnosis is often established several years after onset of symptoms. Ocular manifestations can occur in childhood and be a clue to earlier diagnosis. The aim was to report ocular outcome and visual quality of life (QoL) in patients with FD. MATERIAL AND METHODS FD-patients recruited from Karolinska University Hospital underwent ophthalmological examinations including best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), refraction, biomicroscopy, optical coherence tomography, keratometry, review of medical records and QoL Inventories. A total severity score (TSS), as estimated via Fabry Stabilization Index, was calculated. RESULTS Twenty-six FD-patients (16 men) mean age 36.4 years (range 5.0-63.5 years) were included. BCVA was median 1.0 (range 0.5-1.6). Conjunctival blood vessel tortuosity occurred in 15/26 patients, chemosis in 2/26 patients, cornea verticillata in 23/26 patients, lens opacities in 19/26 patients, and tortuous or dilated retinal vessels in 20/25 patients. Group-wise comparisons of adult patients showed no differences regarding age, TSS, or ocular parameters. Overall, TSS was correlated to age (r = 0.53, p = 0.02). A linear regression model showed that age and sex explained 38% of the variance in TSS. Keratometry did not reveal corneal ectasia in any of the 12 patients examined. VFQ 25 in 15 patients showed a high median composite score, 93.6 (range: 78.1-100). CONCLUSIONS BCVA in FD-patients was good despite corneal and lens pathology. Ocular variables did not show an association with TSS in adult patients. Corneal or lens opacities should also lead to a suspicion of FD in children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mattias Nilsson
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - David Epstein
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Vitreoretinal Diseases, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Branka Samolov
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Anterior Segment Diseases, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Monica Olsson
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Paediatric Ophthalmology, Strabismus and Electrophysiology. St. Erik Eye Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Karin Naess
- Centre for Inherited Metabolic Diseases, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Pediatric Neurology, Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Mikael Oscarson
- Centre for Inherited Metabolic Diseases, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Endocrinology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Kristina Teaer Fahnehjelm
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Paediatric Ophthalmology, Strabismus and Electrophysiology. St. Erik Eye Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
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17
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Watermeyer G, Awuku Y, Fredericks E, Epstein D, Setshedi M, Devani S, Mudombi W, Kassianides C, Katsidzira L. Challenges in the management of inflammatory bowel disease in sub-Saharan Africa. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol 2022; 7:962-972. [PMID: 35779534 DOI: 10.1016/s2468-1253(22)00048-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2021] [Revised: 02/06/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is generally considered a disease of high-income countries and is regarded as rare in sub-Saharan Africa. However, this assumption is almost certainly an underestimate, and the high burden of communicable diseases makes IBD in sub-Saharan Africa difficult to detect. Furthermore, some gastrointestinal infections can closely mimic IBD, contributing to delays in diagnosis and complicating therapeutic decision making. Constraints in endoscopic capacity alongside a scarcity of qualified diagnostic pathologists add to the difficulties. Implementing evidence-based guidelines recommended by international societies is challenging, mostly due to high costs and unavailability of medication. However, cost-effective approaches can still be implemented to manage IBD in sub-Saharan Africa as the predominant disease phenotype is mild-to-moderate ulcerative colitis, which often responds to treatment with basic medication. In this Series paper, we summarise the current management of IBD in sub-Saharan Africa and propose how it can be tailored to suit the epidemiological and socioeconomic specificities of the region. We also discuss measures required to address existing challenges, such as educating health-care workers about the diagnosis and management of IBD or improving endoscopic capacity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gillian Watermeyer
- Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa.
| | - Yaw Awuku
- Department of Medicine, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana
| | - Ernst Fredericks
- Department of Medicine, University of Stellenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa
| | | | - Mashiko Setshedi
- Department of Medicine, University of Cape Town Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Smita Devani
- Department of Medicine, Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Wisdom Mudombi
- Internal Medicine Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe
| | | | - Leolin Katsidzira
- Internal Medicine Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe
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18
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Romo-Avilés N, Zapata JF, Keuneke A, Petroff D, Etz CD, Epstein D. "There is nothing better than participating in this study": Living the PAPAartis cardiovascular randomised controlled trial. Contemp Clin Trials Commun 2022; 29:100987. [PMID: 36111175 PMCID: PMC9468490 DOI: 10.1016/j.conctc.2022.100987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Revised: 08/02/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Qualitative research can bring new dimensions of understanding decision-making process in clinical trials. Participating in a randomized clinical trial requires patients to accept complex information and make decisions in a context of uncertainty. It becomes especially complicated in the case of serious diseases in which the treatment itself implies unknown risks. This study examines these issues in the context of the PAPAartis randomized clinical trial, which aims to prevent spinal cord injuries that can occur as an adverse event following complex surgical repair of thoracoabdominal aneurysm. In this study, we accessed a group of 16 patients participating in the trial and, through in-depth interviews, sought to understand the decision-making process when taking part in the trial and their experience of it. Our results showed that patients participated for different reasons: due to trust in doctors, the hope of having a better treatment or for altruistic and collaborative reasons with science. Many patients felt they did not fully understand the extraneous information provided about the study and the complex nature of the procedure. Avoidance of paraplegia played a fundamental role in the decision to participate in this trial. Family support and the socioeconomic conditions of the patients influenced the recovery process after surgery.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Alena Keuneke
- Department of Social Anthropology, University of Granada, Spain
| | - David Petroff
- Clinical Trial Centre, University of Leipzig, Germany
| | - Christian D Etz
- University Department for Cardiac Surgery, Leipzig Heart Center, Leipzig, Germany
| | - David Epstein
- Department of Applied Economics, University of Granada, Spain
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19
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Aguilera-Cobos L, Rosario-Lozano MP, Ponce-Polo A, Blasco-Amaro JA, Epstein D. Barriers for the evaluation of advanced therapy medicines and their translation to clinical practice: Umbrella review. Health Policy 2022; 126:1248-1255. [DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2022.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Revised: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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Dello Russo M, Russo P, Rufián-Henares JÁ, Hinojosa-Nogueira D, Pérez-Burillo S, de la Cueva SP, Rohn S, Fatouros A, Douros K, González-Vigil V, Epstein D, Francino MP, Siani A, Lauria F. The Stance4Health Project: Evaluating a Smart Personalised Nutrition Service for Gut Microbiota Modulation in Normal- and Overweight Adults and Children with Obesity, Gluten-Related Disorders or Allergy/Intolerance to Cow’s Milk. Foods 2022; 11:foods11101480. [PMID: 35627049 PMCID: PMC9141043 DOI: 10.3390/foods11101480] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Revised: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Unhealthy diets represent a major risk for the pathogenesis of metabolic and chronic inflammatory diseases. Improving the quality of diet is important to prevent chronic diseases, and diet-induced modifications of the gut microbiota (GM) community likely play an important role. The EU-funded Stance4Health project aims at performing a randomized clinical trial based on a nutritional intervention program in the context of normal weight and overweight adults as well as children with obesity and gluten-related disorders or allergy/intolerance to cow’s milk. The trial will evaluate the efficacy of a Smart Personalised Nutrition (SPN) service in modifying GM composition and metabolic function and improving consumer empowerment through technology adoption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marika Dello Russo
- Institute of Food Sciences, National Research Council, 83100 Avellino, Italy; (M.D.R.); (P.R.); (A.S.)
| | - Paola Russo
- Institute of Food Sciences, National Research Council, 83100 Avellino, Italy; (M.D.R.); (P.R.); (A.S.)
| | - José Ángel Rufián-Henares
- Departamento de Nutrición y Bromatología, Instituto de Nutrición y Tecnología de los Alimentos, Centro de Investigación Biomédica, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain; (J.Á.R.-H.); (D.H.-N.); (S.P.-B.); (S.P.d.l.C.)
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs. GRANADA, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
| | - Daniel Hinojosa-Nogueira
- Departamento de Nutrición y Bromatología, Instituto de Nutrición y Tecnología de los Alimentos, Centro de Investigación Biomédica, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain; (J.Á.R.-H.); (D.H.-N.); (S.P.-B.); (S.P.d.l.C.)
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs. GRANADA, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
| | - Sergio Pérez-Burillo
- Departamento de Nutrición y Bromatología, Instituto de Nutrición y Tecnología de los Alimentos, Centro de Investigación Biomédica, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain; (J.Á.R.-H.); (D.H.-N.); (S.P.-B.); (S.P.d.l.C.)
| | - Silvia Pastoriza de la Cueva
- Departamento de Nutrición y Bromatología, Instituto de Nutrición y Tecnología de los Alimentos, Centro de Investigación Biomédica, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain; (J.Á.R.-H.); (D.H.-N.); (S.P.-B.); (S.P.d.l.C.)
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs. GRANADA, Universidad de Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain
| | - Sascha Rohn
- Department of Food Chemistry and Analysis, Institute of Food Technology and Food Chemistry, Technische Universität Berlin, 13355 Berlin, Germany; (S.R.); (A.F.)
- Institute of Food Chemistry, Hamburg School of Food Science, University of Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Alexandra Fatouros
- Department of Food Chemistry and Analysis, Institute of Food Technology and Food Chemistry, Technische Universität Berlin, 13355 Berlin, Germany; (S.R.); (A.F.)
| | - Konstantinos Douros
- Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Unit, 3rd Department of Pediatrics, “Attikon” University Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 12462 Athens, Greece;
| | | | - David Epstein
- Department of Applied Economics, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain;
| | - M. Pilar Francino
- Area de Genòmica i Salut, Fundació per al Foment de la Investigació Sanitària i Biomèdica de la Comunitat Valenciana (FISABIO-Salut Pública), 46020 Valencia, Spain;
- CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública, 28001 Madrid, Spain
| | - Alfonso Siani
- Institute of Food Sciences, National Research Council, 83100 Avellino, Italy; (M.D.R.); (P.R.); (A.S.)
| | - Fabio Lauria
- Institute of Food Sciences, National Research Council, 83100 Avellino, Italy; (M.D.R.); (P.R.); (A.S.)
- Correspondence:
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21
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Diop M, Epstein D. Comparing methods for handling missing cost and quality of life data in the Early Endovenous Ablation in Venous Ulceration trial. Cost Eff Resour Alloc 2022; 20:18. [PMID: 35392924 PMCID: PMC8991820 DOI: 10.1186/s12962-022-00351-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 03/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives This study compares methods for handling missing data to conduct cost-effectiveness analysis in the context of a clinical study. Methods Patients in the Early Endovenous Ablation in Venous Ulceration (EVRA) trial had between 1 year and 5.5 years (median 3 years) of follow-up under early or deferred endovenous ablation. This study compares complete-case-analysis (CCA), multiple imputation using linear regression (MILR) and using predictive mean matching (MIPMM), Bayesian parametric approach using the R package missingHE (BPA), repeated measures fixed effect (RMFE) and repeated measures mixed model (RMM). The outcomes were total mean costs and total mean quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) at different time horizons (1 year, 3 years and 5 years). Results All methods found no statistically significant difference in cost at the 5% level in all time horizons, and all methods found statistically significantly greater mean QALY at year 1. By year 3, only BPA showed a statistically significant difference in QALY between treatments. Standard errors differed substantially between the methods employed. Conclusion CCA can be biased if data are MAR and is wasteful of the data. Hence the results for CCA are likely to be inaccurate. Other methods coincide in suggesting that early intervention is cost-effective at a threshold of £30,000 per QALY 1, 3 and 5 years. However, the variation in the results across the methods does generate some additional methodological uncertainty, underlining the importance of conducting sensitivity analyses using alternative approaches. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12962-022-00351-6.
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Affiliation(s)
- Modou Diop
- Department of Applied Economics, University of Granada, Campus de Cartuja, 18071, Granada, Spain.
| | - David Epstein
- Department of Applied Economics, University of Granada, Campus de Cartuja, 18071, Granada, Spain
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22
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Espín J, Špacírová Z, Rovira J, Epstein D, Olry de Labry Lima A, García-Mochón L. Development of the European Healthcare and Social Cost Database (EU HCSCD) for use in economic evaluation of healthcare programs. BMC Health Serv Res 2022; 22:405. [PMID: 35346201 PMCID: PMC8962458 DOI: 10.1186/s12913-022-07791-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Costs are one of the critical factors for the transferability of the results in health technology assessment and economic evaluation. The objective is to develop a cost database at the European level to facilitate cross-border cost comparisons in different settings and explains the factors that lead to differences in healthcare costs in different countries, taking into account the differences between health systems and other factors. Methodology The core of the database is compounded of three main categories (primary resources, composite goods and services, and complex processes and interventions) organized into 13 subcategories. A number of elements providing as detailed information of unit cost as possible were identified in order to mitigate the problem of comparability. Consortium partners validated both the database structure and selected costing items. Results Twenty-seven costing items included in the EU HCSCD resulted in 1450 unit costs when taking into account all item subtypes and countries. Cross-country differences in costs are driven by the type of resources included in the costing items (e.g., overhead costs in case of complex processes and interventions) or by the variety of existing brands and/or models and the type of unit value in most of the primary resources. Conclusion The EU HCSCD is the only public unit healthcare and social cost database at European level that gather data on unit costs and explains differences in costs across countries. Its maintenance and regular data updating will enable establishing specific systems for generating and recording information that will meet many of its current limitations. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-022-07791-z.
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Machin M, Smith S, Nandrha S, Wilton E, Hammond C, Stephens-Boal A, Epstein D, Norrie J, Lim C, O’Sullivan G, Gohel M, Black S, Hunt B, Shaloub J, Davies A. Best Endovenous Treatment, Including Stenting, versus Best Nonendovenous Treatment in Chronic Proximal Deep Venous Disease—The BEST Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol. J Vasc Surg Venous Lymphat Disord 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jvsv.2021.12.063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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24
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Hernández MN, Bermúdez-Tamayo C, Alguacil J, Cantarero D, Casino G, Santillán A, Calvente MG, Epstein D, Hernán M, García LP, Portiño MC, Cantero MTR, Segura A, Amez JG, Juárez L, Miranda JJ, Tejero MF, March JC, Marcos-Marcos J, Cucunubá ZM, Lumbreras B, Mar J, Peiró R, Álvarez-Dardet C. [Gaceta Sanitaria in 2021. Protecting the planet to protect health]. Gac Sanit 2022; 36:101-105. [PMID: 35331385 PMCID: PMC8936667 DOI: 10.1016/j.gaceta.2022.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Negrín Hernández
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Departamento de Métodos Cuantitativos, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, España
| | - Clara Bermúdez-Tamayo
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública, Granada, España; CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), España.
| | - Juan Alguacil
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Departamento de Sociología, Trabajo Social y Salud Pública, Universidad de Huelva, Huelva, España
| | - David Cantarero
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Departamento de Economía, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, España
| | - Gonzalo Casino
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Departamento de Comunicación, Universidad Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, España; Centro Cochrane Iberoamericano, IIB Sant Pau, Barcelona, España
| | - Azucena Santillán
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Hospital Universitario de Burgos, Burgos, España
| | - Mar García Calvente
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública, Granada, España
| | - David Epstein
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Departamento de Economía, Universidad de Granada, Granada, España
| | - Mariano Hernán
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública, Granada, España; CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), España
| | - Leila Posenato García
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada, Brasil
| | - Mercedes Carrasco Portiño
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Departamento de Obstetricia y Puericultura, Universidad de Concepción, Chile; Grupo de Investigación en Salud Pública, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, España
| | - María Teresa Ruiz Cantero
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), España; Grupo de Investigación en Salud Pública, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, España
| | - Andreu Segura
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Departamento de Ciencias Experimentales y de la Salud, Universidad Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, España
| | - Javier García Amez
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Departamento de Ciencias Jurídicas Básicas, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, España
| | - Lucero Juárez
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Universidad del Valle de México, Ciudad de México DF, México
| | - Juan Jaime Miranda
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Departamento de Medicina, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Perú
| | - Manuel Franco Tejero
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Departamento de Cirugía, Ciencias Médicas y Sociales, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares (Madrid), España
| | - Joan Carles March
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública, Granada, España; CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), España
| | - Jorge Marcos-Marcos
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Departamento de Psicología de la Salud, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, España
| | - Zulma M Cucunubá
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Departamento de Epidemiología Clínica y Bioestadística, Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá, Colombia; Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
| | - Blanca Lumbreras
- CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), España; Departamento de Salud Pública, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Alicante, España
| | - Javier Mar
- Vocalía SESPAS de Gaceta Sanitaria; Hospital Alto Deba, Arrasate (Gipuzkoa), España
| | - Rosana Peiró
- CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), España; Consejo Asesor de Gaceta Sanitaria; Fundación para el Fomento de la Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunitat Valenciana FISABIO-Salud Pública, Valencia, España
| | - Carlos Álvarez-Dardet
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), España; Grupo de Investigación en Salud Pública, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, España
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25
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Aviv O, Epstein L, Fried Y, Spitz HB, Shonkor S, Epstein D, Naim A, Yungrais Z, Datz H. A METHOD TO IDENTIFY AND LOCALIZE A SINGLE HOT PARTICLE IN THE LUNGS USING AN ARRAY OF HIGH-PURITY GERMANIUM DETECTORS FOR IMPROVED ESTIMATE OF THE DEPOSITED ACTIVITY. Radiat Prot Dosimetry 2022; 198:62-73. [PMID: 35043200 DOI: 10.1093/rpd/ncab187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2021] [Revised: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
A new method has been developed to identify and localize a single hot particle in the lungs using an array of four high-purity germanium detectors. The method is based upon calculating a set of three count rate ratios (generated by each individual detector in the array) that are evaluated in sequence to designate whether the measured deposition can be associated with a hot particle rather than the default assumption of a uniform activity distribution. Identification and localization of the hot particle are determined from a single in vivo measurement in which detectors are positioned above and below the thorax. The method was tested using an anthropomorphic thorax phantom in which point sources of 241Am, 137Cs and 60Co were individually inserted in the lungs at 15 different locations and were measured using a scanning bed whole-body counter. Depending upon source location and photon energy, a bias of -35% up to +76% could be introduced by falsely assuming a uniform activity distribution in the lungs. This bias would directly translate to an erroneous dose estimate to the lungs. It was demonstrated that by using the appropriate detector efficiencies for the single hot particle, the bias associated with the activity determination is reduced to <10% and ~2% in average.
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Affiliation(s)
- O Aviv
- Radiation Safety Department, Soreq Nuclear Research Center, Yavne 81800, Israel
| | - L Epstein
- Radiation Safety Department, Soreq Nuclear Research Center, Yavne 81800, Israel
| | - Y Fried
- Radiation Safety Department, Soreq Nuclear Research Center, Yavne 81800, Israel
| | - H B Spitz
- Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0072, USA
| | - S Shonkor
- Radiation Safety Department, Soreq Nuclear Research Center, Yavne 81800, Israel
| | - D Epstein
- Department of Radiotherapy, Assuta Medical Center, Tel Aviv 6971028, Israel
| | - A Naim
- Radiation Safety Department, Soreq Nuclear Research Center, Yavne 81800, Israel
| | - Z Yungrais
- Radiation Safety Department, Soreq Nuclear Research Center, Yavne 81800, Israel
| | - H Datz
- Radiation Safety Department, Soreq Nuclear Research Center, Yavne 81800, Israel
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Rejon-Parrilla JC, Espin J, Epstein D. How innovation can be defined, evaluated and rewarded in health technology assessment. Health Econ Rev 2022; 12:1. [PMID: 34981266 PMCID: PMC8725438 DOI: 10.1186/s13561-021-00342-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Accepted: 11/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND What constitutes innovation in health technologies can be defined and measured in a number of ways and it has been widely researched and published about. However, while many countries mention it as a criterion for pricing or reimbursement of health technologies, countries differ widely in how they define and operationalise it. METHODS We performed a literature review, using a snowballing search. In this paper, we explore how innovation has been defined in the literature in relation to health technology assessment. We also describe how a selection of countries (England, France, Italy, Spain and Japan) take account of innovation in their health technology assessment frameworks and explore the key methodologies that can capture it as a dimension of value in a new health technology. We propose a way of coming to, and incorporating into health technology assessment systems, a definition of innovation for health technologies that is independent of other dimensions of value that they already account for in their systems, such as clinical benefit. We use Spain as an illustrative example of how innovation might be operationalised as a criterion for decision making in health technology assessment. RESULTS The countries analysed here can be divided into 2 groups with respect to how they define innovation. France, Japan and Italy use features such as severity, unmet need and therapeutic added value as indicators of the degree of innovation of a health technology, while England, Spain consider the degree of innovation as a separate and additional criterion from others. In the case of Spain, a notion of innovation might be constructed around concepts of `step-change', `convenience', `strength of evidence base' and `impact on future research & development'. CONCLUSIONS If innovation is to be used as operational criteria for adoption, pricing and reimbursement of health technologies, the concept must be clearly defined, and it ought to be independent from other value dimensions already captured in their health technology assessment systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Carlos Rejon-Parrilla
- Área de Evaluación de Tecnologías Sanitarias de la Fundación Pública Andaluza Progreso y Salud (AETSA-FPS), Sevilla, Spain.
| | - Jaime Espin
- Andalusian School of Public Health, Granada, Spain
- CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
- Biosanitary Research Institute (ibs.GRANADA), Granada, Spain
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27
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Radus R, Epstein D, Levin D. Verifying Plan QA for Online Adaptive Treatment in MR Linac. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2021.07.1421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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28
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Diop M, Epstein D, Ruiz-Adame M. Personality traits associated with Healthy Diet and Obesity: A systematic review. Eur J Public Health 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/eurpub/ckab164.446] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Objective
This study aimed to examine the association between personality traits and either dietary behaviour or weight-related outcomes.
Methods
A systematic review guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Statement was conducted through Scopus, PubMed and PsychInfo databases. Studies were included if they used a facet of personality that we were confidently able to map to a Big Five dimension.
Results
A total of 21 studies were eligible for inclusion. Most studies that reported a measure of association found a result that was statistically insignificant at the 5% level. In studies where the result was statistically significant, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness were almost always positively associated with healthy dietary behaviour and negatively associated with fat consumption, eating problems, obesity and measures of unhealthy weight across all the populations. Four studies found statistically significant results in the opposite direction. Neuroticism was associated with unhealthy behaviours or weight problems.
Conclusions and Implications
The Big-Five-model is an adequate instrument to measure the relationship between personality and diet. Healthy dietary behaviour tends to be associated with more pro-social personality characteristics, whereas poor weight control could be linked with Neuroticism. These results suggest there may be some benefit from using psychological traits to personalise interventions aimed at improving nutrition.
Key messages
There may be some benefit from using psychological traits to personalise interventions aimed at improving nutrition. Another interesting line of research may take account of the role of peer-effects and role-models in promoting healthy or unhealthy behaviour across social networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Diop
- Applied Economic, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - D Epstein
- Applied Economic, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - M Ruiz-Adame
- Applied Economic, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
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Abstract
Abstract
Objective
To systematically reviews the costs, resource uses, clinical complication and quality of life among patients with spinal cord injury.
Methods
A systematic review guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Statement was conducted through Scopus, PubMed and Embase databases.
Results
A total of 52 studies were eligible for inclusion. The estimated lifetime economic burden per individual with SCI ranges from $1.5 million to $3.0 million. Among studies which reported clinical outcomes, the mortality rates were estimated less than 4%, the most medical complication reported are spasticity, pain, pressures score and neurological deteriorations. Overall health status is negatively associated with QoL. People with a higher severity the of injury, a longer duration of injury, ambulatory mode, and with depression are more likely to report score low values of QoL. Employment and salary are consistently positively associated with better QoL. Age is negatively correlated with QoL.
Conclusions
Although spinal cord injury is related with high costs, no studies were found with detailed resources use. Also, A variety of instrument were used to examine how different factors have a role in predicting quality of life in spinal cord injury population. However, it is important to consider that differences found in those studies may at least be part in function of the instruments used. Therefore, standardized instruments should be used as part of these process.
Key messages
Paraplegia or the severity of SCI impact negatively quality of life and positively on healthcare and social costs. Promoting the employment of subjects with SCI generates a positive impact on their quality of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Diop
- Applied Economic, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - D Epstein
- Applied Economic, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - A Gaggero
- Applied Economic, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
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Borreda I, Zukermann R, Epstein D, Marcusohn E. IV sodium ferric gluconate complex in patients admitted due to acute decompansated heart failure and iron deficiency. Eur Heart J 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehab724.0896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Introduction
Patients suffering from heart failure (HF) and iron deficiency (ID) have worse outcomes. Intra-venous (IV) ferric carboxymaltose has been shown to reduce HF readmissions and improve symptoms in patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction. However, IV ferric carboxymaltose is significantly more expensive than IV Sodium Ferric Gluconate Complex limiting its availability to most HF failure patients around the globe.
Methods
This is a retrospective analysis comparing patients admitted due to acute decompensated HF (ADHF) and treated with or without IV sodium ferric gluconate complex on top of standard medical therapy. The study included all patients admitted due to ADHF, with either reduced or preserved EF between January 2013 to December 2018.
Results
During the study period, a total of 1856 patients were admitted due to ADHF. Among them 840 patients had an indication for IV iron therapy. Among them 122 (14.5%) patients were treated with IV Sodium Ferric Gluconate during hospitalisation. When comparing the group that was treated with IV iron compared to standard HF treatment no difference was found at one year after the hospitalization regarding reduction in readmissions due to ADHF (27.9% vs 24.8% respectively P=0.54), nor in all-cause mortality (25.4% vs. 25.6% respectively, P=0.99).
Conclusion
Treatment with IV Sodium ferric gluconate complex during hospitalization due to ADHF did not show any advantage in reduction of readmission due to heart failure after 1 year follow up.
Funding Acknowledgement
Type of funding sources: None.
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Affiliation(s)
- I Borreda
- Rambam Health Care Campus, Cardiology, Haifa, Israel
| | - R Zukermann
- Rambam Health Care Campus, Cardiology, Haifa, Israel
| | - D Epstein
- Rambam Health Care Campus, Intensive care unit, Haifa, Israel
| | - E Marcusohn
- Rambam Health Care Campus, Cardiology, Haifa, Israel
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Holmquist D, Epstein D, Olsson M, Wissinger B, Kohl S, Hengstler J, Tear-Fahnehjelm K. Visual and ocular findings in a family with X-linked cone dysfunction and protanopia. Ophthalmic Genet 2021; 42:570-576. [PMID: 34287097 DOI: 10.1080/13816810.2021.1938139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Background: Bornholm eye disease (BED) is a rare X-linked cone dysfunction disorder with high myopia, amblyopia, and color vision defects.Materials and methods: Visual and ocular outcomes in a family where two of five siblings had molecularly confirmed BED are reported. Ophthalmological assessments included best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), color vision test, and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Medical records, electroretinography (ERG), and genetic analyses were re-evaluated.Results: Two male siblings had confirmed BED with myopia and protanopia. The younger brother had high myopia, subnormal BCVA, and ocular fundi that showed tilted discs, crescent shaped peripapillary atrophy, and visible choroidal vessels. OCT confirmed retinal and choroidal atrophy. The older brother was lightly myopic with normal/subnormal BCVA and subtle findings in the fundi. Both brothers had abnormal ERG recordings with a decreased cone response. They also had a structurally intact OPN1LW/OPN1MW gene cluster. The OPN1LW gene was shown to carry a deleterious variant combination in exon 3 known to result in mis-splicing of opsin mRNA and acknowledged as LIAVA amino acid delineation (Leu153-Ile171-Ala174-Val178-Ala180), while the OPN1MW gene exon 3 showed a non-pathogenic variant combination (MVVVA). Another normal-sighted brother carried another wildtype variant combination (LVAIS) in exon 3 of the OPN1LW gene.Conclusions: The two affected brothers demonstrated a large variability in their phenotypes even though the genotypes were identical. They presented a disease-associated haplotype in exon 3 of OPN1LW that has been described as the molecular cause of BED.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dag Holmquist
- Department of Paediatric Ophthalmology, Strabismus, Electrophysiology and Ocular Oncology, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - David Epstein
- Department of Retinal Diseases, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Monica Olsson
- Department of Paediatric Ophthalmology, Strabismus, Electrophysiology and Ocular Oncology, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Bernd Wissinger
- Institute for Ophthalmic Research, Centre for Ophthalmology, University Clinics Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Susanne Kohl
- Institute for Ophthalmic Research, Centre for Ophthalmology, University Clinics Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jürg Hengstler
- Department of Retinal Diseases, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Kristina Tear-Fahnehjelm
- Department of Paediatric Ophthalmology, Strabismus, Electrophysiology and Ocular Oncology, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
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Špacírová Z, Epstein D, García-Mochón L, Rovira J, Olry de Labry Lima A, Espín J. Correction to: A general framework for classifying costing methods for economic evaluation of health care. Eur J Health Econ 2021; 22:847. [PMID: 34032970 PMCID: PMC8496672 DOI: 10.1007/s10198-021-01313-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10198-021-01313-0
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Affiliation(s)
- Zuzana Špacírová
- Andalusian School of Public Health/Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP), Granada, Spain
| | - David Epstein
- Andalusian School of Public Health/Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP), Granada, Spain
- University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Leticia García-Mochón
- Andalusian School of Public Health/Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP), Granada, Spain
- CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain/CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs, Granada, Spain
| | - Joan Rovira
- Andalusian School of Public Health/Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP), Granada, Spain
| | - Antonio Olry de Labry Lima
- Andalusian School of Public Health/Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP), Granada, Spain
- CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain/CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs, Granada, Spain
| | - Jaime Espín
- Andalusian School of Public Health/Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP), Granada, Spain.
- CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain/CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs, Granada, Spain.
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Thapar A, Lawton R, Burgess L, Shalhoub J, Bradbury A, Cullum N, Epstein D, Gohel M, Horne R, Hunt BJ, Norrie J, Davies AH. Compression hosiery to avoid post-thrombotic syndrome (CHAPS) protocol for a randomised controlled trial (ISRCTN73041168). BMJ Open 2021; 11:e044285. [PMID: 33846151 PMCID: PMC8048019 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Up to 50% of patients develop post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS) after an above knee deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The aim of the study was to determine the effect of graduated compression stockings in preventing PTS after DVT. METHODS AND ANALYSIS Pragmatic, UK multicentre randomised trial in adults with first above knee DVT. The standard of care arm is anticoagulation. The intervention arm will receive anticoagulation plus stockings (European class II, 23-32 mm Hg compression) worn for a median of 18 months. The primary endpoint is PTS using the Villalta score. Analysis of this will be through a time to event approach and cumulative incidence at median 6, 12 and 18 months. An ongoing process evaluation will examine factors contributing to adherence to stockings to understand if and how the behavioural interventions were effective. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION UK research ethics committee approval (reference 19/LO/1585). Dissemination though the charity Thrombosis UK, the Imperial College London website, peer-reviewed publications and international conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER ISRCTN registration number 73041168.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ankur Thapar
- Academic Section of Vascular Surgery, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Faculty of Health Education, Medicine & Social Care, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, Essex, UK
- Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Mid and South Essex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Basildon, Essex, UK
| | - Rebecca Lawton
- Academic Section of Vascular Surgery, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Laura Burgess
- Academic Section of Vascular Surgery, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Joseph Shalhoub
- Academic Section of Vascular Surgery, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Andrew Bradbury
- Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Nicky Cullum
- School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - David Epstein
- Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Andalucía, Spain
| | - Manjit Gohel
- Department of Vascular Surgery, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK
| | - Robert Horne
- School of Pharmacy, University College London, London, London, UK
| | - Beverley J Hunt
- Department of Haematology, Guy's & St Thomas' Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - John Norrie
- Edinburgh Clinical Trials Unit, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - A H Davies
- Academic Section of Vascular Surgery, Imperial College London, London, UK
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Onida S, Heatley F, Peerbux S, Bolton L, Lane T, Epstein D, Gohel M, Poskitt K, Cullum N, Norrie J, Lee RJ, Bradbury A, Dhillon K, Chandrasekar A, Lomas R, Davies AH. Study protocol for a multicentre, randomised controlled trial to compare the use of the decellularised dermis allograft in addition to standard care versus standard care alone for the treatment of venous leg ulceration: DAVE trial. BMJ Open 2021; 11:e041748. [PMID: 33811051 PMCID: PMC8023724 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-041748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Venous leg ulceration (VLU), the most common type of chronic ulcer, can be difficult to heal and is a major cause of morbidity and reduced quality of life. Although compression bandaging is the principal treatment, it is time-consuming and bandage application requires specific training. There is evidence that intervention on superficial venous incompetence can help ulcer healing and recurrence, but this is not accessible to all patients. Hence, new treatments are required to address these chronic wounds. One possible adjuvant treatment for VLU is human decellularised dermis (DCD), a type of skin graft derived from skin from deceased tissue donors. Although DCD has the potential to promote ulcer healing, there is a paucity of data for its use in patients with VLU. METHODS AND ANALYSIS This is a multicentre, parallel group, pragmatic randomised controlled trial. One hundred and ninety-six patients with VLU will be randomly assigned to receive either the DCD allograft in addition to standard care or standard care alone. The primary outcome is the proportion of participants with a healed index ulcer at 12 weeks post-randomisation in each treatment arm. Secondary outcomes include the time to index ulcer healing and the proportion of participants with a healed index ulcer at 12 months. Changes in quality of life scores and cost-effectiveness will also be assessed. All analyses will be carried out on an intention-to-treat (ITT) basis. A mixed-effects, logistic regression on the outcome of the proportion of those with the index ulcer healed at 12 weeks will be performed. Secondary outcomes will be assessed using various statistical models appropriate to the distribution and nature of these outcomes. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION Ethical approval was granted by the Bloomsbury Research Ethics Committee (19/LO/1271). Findings will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at national and international conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER ISRCTN21541209.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Onida
- Section of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Francine Heatley
- Section of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Sarrah Peerbux
- Section of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Layla Bolton
- Vascular Surgery Research Department, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK
| | - Tristan Lane
- Section of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Cambridge Vascular Unit, Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
| | - David Epstein
- Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Andalucía, Spain
| | - Manjit Gohel
- Section of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Cambridge Vascular Unit, Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
| | - Keith Poskitt
- Cheltenham General Hospital, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, UK
| | - Nicky Cullum
- School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- Research and Innovation Division, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, Greater Manchester, UK
| | - John Norrie
- Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, Edinburgh Clinical Trials Unit, University of Edinburgh No 9, Bioquarter, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Robert J Lee
- Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, Edinburgh Clinical Trials Unit, University of Edinburgh No 9, Bioquarter, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Andrew Bradbury
- Birmingham University, Department of Vascular Surgery, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK
| | - Karen Dhillon
- Vascular Surgery Research Department, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK
| | - Akila Chandrasekar
- Tissue and Eye Services, NHS Blood and Transplant, Liverpool, Merseyside, UK
| | - Richard Lomas
- Tissue and Eye Services, NHS Blood and Transplant, Liverpool, Merseyside, UK
| | - A H Davies
- Section of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London, UK
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Bermúdez-Tamayo C, Hernández MN, Alguacil J, Briones-Vozmediano E, Cantarero D, Portiño MC, Casino G, Santillán-García A, Calvente MDMG, Zapata LIG, Epstein D, Hernán M, García LP, Cantero MTR, Segura A, Zunzunegui MV, Juárez L, Miranda JJ, Mar J, Peiró R, Amez JG, Álvarez-Dardet C. Gaceta Sanitaria en 2019. Trabajando para mejorar la eficiencia en la publicación científica. Gac Sanit 2021; 34:101-104. [PMID: 32151337 DOI: 10.1016/j.gaceta.2020.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Clara Bermúdez-Tamayo
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública, Granada, España; CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), España.
| | - Miguel Negrín Hernández
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Departamento de Métodos Cuantitativos, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, España
| | - Juan Alguacil
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Departamento de Sociología, Trabajo Social y Salud Pública, Universidad de Huelva, Huelva, España
| | - Erica Briones-Vozmediano
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Facultad de Enfermería y Fisioterapia, Universidad de Lleida, Lleida, España
| | - David Cantarero
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Departamento de Economía, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, España
| | - Mercedes Carrasco Portiño
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Departamento de Obstetricia y Puericultura, Universidad de Concepción, Chile
| | - Gonzalo Casino
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Departamento de Comunicación, Universidad Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, España
| | | | | | - Laura Inés González Zapata
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Escuela de Nutrición y Dietética, Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia
| | - David Epstein
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Departamento de Economía Aplicada, Universidad de Granada, Granada, España
| | - Mariano Hernán
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública, Granada, España; CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), España
| | - Leila Posenato García
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada, Brasil
| | - María Teresa Ruiz Cantero
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), España; Grupo de Investigación en Salud Pública, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, España
| | - Andreu Segura
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Departamento de Ciencias Experimentales y de la Salud, Universidad Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, España
| | - María Victoria Zunzunegui
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Departement de Médecine Sociale et Préventive, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada
| | - Lucero Juárez
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Universidad del Valle de México, Ciudad de México, México
| | - Juan Jaime Miranda
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Departamento de Medicina, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Perú
| | - Javier Mar
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Vocal SESPAS de Gaceta Sanitaria; Hospital Alto Deba, Arrasate (Gipuzkoa), España
| | - Rosana Peiró
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), España; Coordinadora del Consejo Asesor de Gaceta Sanitaria; Fundación para el Fomento de la Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de la Comunitat Valenciana FISABIO-Salud Pública, Valencia, España
| | - Javier García Amez
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; Departamento de Ciencias Jurídicas Básicas, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, España
| | - Carlos Álvarez-Dardet
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria; CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), España; Grupo de Investigación en Salud Pública, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, España
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Aslanis S, Amrén U, Lindberg C, Epstein D. Recurrent Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration after Discontinuation of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Inhibitors Managed in a Treat-and-Extend Regimen. Ophthalmol Retina 2021; 6:15-20. [PMID: 33775926 DOI: 10.1016/j.oret.2021.03.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Revised: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE To investigate the recurrence rate of active macular neovascularization in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) previously followed up in a treat-and-extend (TE) regimen in which treatment had been stopped because of disease stability. DESIGN Prospective cohort study. PARTICIPANTS One hundred five patients with nAMD previously followed up in a TE regimen treated with aflibercept injections. METHODS All patients with a dry macula on 3 consecutive visits 12 weeks apart were eligible to participate in the study. Patients were examined at baseline and then monitored for disease recurrence 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 months after the last injection. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The proportion of patients with recurrent disease within 12 months after the last injection. Change in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at the time of recurrence and after resumed therapy. RESULTS Evidence of recurrent nAMD was seen in 54 of 102 patients (52.9%) after 12 months of follow-up. The mean time to recurrence after the last injection was 6.7 ± 2.2 months. The BCVA decreased from 71.7 ± 10.0 Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) letters at baseline to 68.1 ± 11.1 ETDRS letters at the recurrence (P = 0.12). After treatment resumed, BCVA increased to 71.4 ± 10.0 ETDRS letters (P = not significant compared with baseline). Patients with a pigment epithelial detachment (PED) at baseline showed a 74% (14/19) recurrence rate compared with 48% (40/83) in patients without a PED (P < 0.05). Only 22 of 54 patients (40.7%) with recurrent disease showed symptoms of visual loss or metamorphopsia. CONCLUSIONS Recurrent nAMD is common in previously stable patients for whom anti-VEGF injections have been suspended. It is difficult to predict which patients will experience a recurrence, and most of these patients do not show symptoms in the early stages of reactivation. Long-term follow-up is important, and early detection of recurrent disease can improve the chances for maintained visual function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stamatios Aslanis
- Department of Vitreoretinal Diseases, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Urban Amrén
- Department of Vitreoretinal Diseases, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Charlotte Lindberg
- Department of Vitreoretinal Diseases, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - David Epstein
- Department of Vitreoretinal Diseases, St. Erik Eye Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
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Hickmott L, Jeyarajah C, Logarajah S, Webber A, Epstein D, Qureshi S, Penge J. 133 Incidence of Imaging Confirmed Stroke and Thrombotic Events in Older Adults with Severe COVID-19 Infection. Age Ageing 2021. [PMCID: PMC7989647 DOI: 10.1093/ageing/afab030.94] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
During the initial phase of the response to COVID-19, concern was raised regarding a potential link with increased risk of stroke. We aimed to explore the incidence of stroke and thrombotic events within our local population with COVID-19 infection who required admission to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Methods Retrospective analysis of 57 consecutive patients with a diagnosis of COVID-19 infection admitted to Barnet General Hospital ICU between 6th March and 26th April 2020. Cases were reviewed to establish whether there had been imaging (CT or MRI) confirmed ischaemic stroke, intra-cerebral haemorrhage (ICH), venous sinus thrombosis (VST) or other thrombotic event, including pulmonary embolism (PE). Data was collected on baseline characteristics and blood tests including D-Dimer levels. Statistical analysis was performed using two-tailed t-test and Fischer’s exact test (FET). Findings: Nineteen patients (33%) were age 65 years or older (mean age 69, range 65 to 74 years) and of these 2 patients (10.5%) had imaging confirmed acute ischaemic stroke. In those under 65 (mean age 54, range 29–64 years) there was one confirmed ICH and one VST. The incidence of PE was 21% in both groups. Survival was significantly lower in the age 65 or older group (26.3% versus 63.2%, p = 0.0119 (FET)). Peak recorded D-Dimer levels also appeared to be significantly higher in the age 65 or older group (p = 0.0003, 95% CI 13068.89 to 39858.68). Conclusions and limitations These findings highlight the importance of awareness of risk of thrombotic events, including acute stroke, in older adults with severe Covid-19 infection. It is possible that the incidence of stroke was underestimated, including due to challenges identifying clinical signs of acute stroke and safely obtaining imaging in this population. Further, ideally prospective, studies are required to more clearly elucidate the degree of association between COVID-19 infection and stroke and VST.
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Sweeney A, Bellenberg H, Butt H, Badat S, Epstein D. 80 Improving Documentation of DNAR Decisions on the Acute Medical Take. Age Ageing 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/ageing/afab030.41] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Introduction
The BMA, Resuscitation Council and Royal College of Nursing have set out clear guidelines on documentation of Resuscitation discussions and decisions.1 On the acute medical take documentation of these discussions and decisions can be unclear despite use of an electronic patient record (EPR). The aim of this audit was to improve documentation of Do Not Attempt Resuscitation (DNAR) decisions in EPR.
Methods
We listed patients admitted on the medical take over 1-week, looking at resuscitation status and the documentation of the DNAR decision. We then implemented a change to the format of the EPR treatment escalation plan (TEP) form. Prior to the change the DNAR form was behind the TEP form which had to be clicked on separately and was not mandatory to complete. After the intervention the DNAR decision was placed in a box on the front page of the TEP form to ensure that it was clear and accessible.
Results
Pre-intervention we reviewed 114 patients notes of which 94 were DNAR. Of these 94 only 17 (18%) had correctly documented DNAR decisions in EPR. Following the intervention we again looked at all admissions to the medical take over a 1-week period, out of 151 patients 75 were DNAR and of these 75 patients 29 had correctly documented DNAR forms. This shows an increase in the percentage of the DNAR decisions filled in from 18% to 39%.
Conclusion
The results show that although there has been an improvement in the number of DNAR decisions being documented there are still a large percentage of patients who do not have this correctly documented. We are designing further interventions to ensure that the DNAR documentation is marked as a mandatory part of the TEP form as well as educating around the importance of this documentation.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Sweeney
- Barnet Hospital, Royal Free NHS Trust
| | | | - H Butt
- Barnet Hospital, Royal Free NHS Trust
| | - S Badat
- Barnet Hospital, Royal Free NHS Trust
| | - D Epstein
- Barnet Hospital, Royal Free NHS Trust
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Epstein D. Nutrition Economics: Celebrating Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration. Value Health 2021; 24:313-316. [PMID: 33641763 DOI: 10.1016/j.jval.2020.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2020] [Accepted: 12/31/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- David Epstein
- Department of Applied Economics, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
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Hernández MN, Bermúdez-Tamayo C, Alguacil J, Cantarero D, Portiño MC, Casino G, Santillán A, Calvente MG, Epstein D, Hernan M, García LP, Cantero MTR, Segura A, Amez JG, Cairo LAJHY, Miranda JJ, Tejero MF, March JC, Mar J, Peiro R, Álvarez-Dardet C. Gaceta Sanitaria en 2020. Respuesta editorial a la sindemia e implementación de nuevas normas. Gac Sanit 2021; 35:109-112. [PMID: 33632519 PMCID: PMC7897975 DOI: 10.1016/j.gaceta.2021.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Negrín Hernández
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria, España; Departamento de Métodos Cuantitativos, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, España
| | - Clara Bermúdez-Tamayo
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria, España; Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública, Granada, España; CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), España.
| | - Juan Alguacil
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria, España; CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), España; Departamento de Sociología, Trabajo Social y Salud Pública, Universidad de Huelva, Huelva, España
| | - David Cantarero
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria, España; Departamento de Economía, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, España
| | - Mercedes Carrasco Portiño
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria, España; Departamento de Obstetricia y Puericultura, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
| | - Gonzalo Casino
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria, España; Departamento de Comunicación, Universidad Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, España; Centro Cochrane Iberoamericano, Barcelona, España
| | - Azucena Santillán
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria, España; Hospital Universitario de Burgos, Burgos, España
| | - Mar García Calvente
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria, España; Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública, Granada, España
| | - David Epstein
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria, España; Departamento de Economía, Universidad de Granada, Granada, España
| | - Mariano Hernan
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria, España; Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública, Granada, España; CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), España
| | - Leila Posenato García
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria, España; Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada, Brasilia, Brasil
| | - María Teresa Ruiz Cantero
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria, España; CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), España; Grupo de Investigación en Salud Pública, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, España
| | - Andreu Segura
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria, España; Comité de Bioética y Consejo Asesor de Salud Pública de Cataluña, Barcelona, España
| | - Javier García Amez
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria, España; Departamento de Ciencias Jurídicas Básicas, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, España
| | | | - Juan Jaime Miranda
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria, España; Departamento de Medicina, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Perú
| | - Manuel Franco Tejero
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria, España; Departamento de Cirugía, Ciencias Médicas y Sociales, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, España
| | - Joan Carles March
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria, España; Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública, Granada, España; CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), España
| | - Javier Mar
- Vocal SESPAS de Gaceta Sanitaria,España; Hospital Alto Deba, Arrasate, Gipuzkoa, España
| | - Rosana Peiro
- Coordinadora del Consejo Asesor de Gaceta Sanitaria,España; Oficina Valenciana de Acción Comunitaria para la Salud, Dirección General de Salud Pública y Adicciones, Grupo de investigación ALES (FISABIO), Conselleria de Sanidad, Generalitat Valenciana, Valencia, España
| | - Carlos Álvarez-Dardet
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria, España; Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública, Granada, España; Grupo de Investigación en Salud Pública, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, España
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Casselholm de Salles M, Lindberg C, Epstein D. Neovascular glaucoma in patients with central retinal vein occlusion: A real-life study in the anti-VEGF era. Acta Ophthalmol 2021; 99:e7-e12. [PMID: 32548981 DOI: 10.1111/aos.14500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2019] [Revised: 05/10/2020] [Accepted: 05/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE To investigate the characteristics and treatment patterns of patients developing a neovascular event (NE) in the anterior chamber secondary to central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) in an ordinary clinical setting. METHODS In this retrospective real-life study, data from 243 eyes presenting with CRVO during 2012-2013 were collected. Maximum follow-up was 5 years. All patients that developed NE were included in the analysis. RESULTS Of 243 eligible patients, 72 (30%) either presented with or developed NE during the follow-up. In these 72 patients, 23 (32%) eyes already had evidence of NE at baseline. Twenty-eight eyes (39%) developed NE after discontinuation of intravitreal therapy for macular oedema (ME). In this subgroup, the NE occurred 15.6 ± 13.8 months after the baseline visit and 4.1 ± 2.6 months after the last injection. Final best-corrected visual acuity was 8.6 Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) letters in the group of patients presenting with NE compared to 8.1 ETDRS letters in the group that developed NE later on. Of the patients presenting with intraocular pressure (IOP) below 30 mmHg, 3/29 (10%) needed subsequent cyclodiode laser therapy compared to 35/43 (81%) patients with a baseline IOP above 30 mmHg (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS In a clinical setting, many patients show evidence of NE already at the first visit. A substantial part of patients develops NE a long time after presentation, commonly a few months after discontinuation of intravitreal therapy for ME. The visual prognosis is similar for patients presenting with NE and patients developing NE during follow-up. A high baseline IOP predicts the need for subsequent pressure-lowering procedures.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - David Epstein
- Karolinska Institutet St. Erik Eye Hospital Stockholm Sweden
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Graham S, Epstein D, Rajpoot N. Dense Steerable Filter CNNs for Exploiting Rotational Symmetry in Histology Images. IEEE Trans Med Imaging 2020; 39:4124-4136. [PMID: 32746153 DOI: 10.1109/tmi.2020.3013246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Histology images are inherently symmetric under rotation, where each orientation is equally as likely to appear. However, this rotational symmetry is not widely utilised as prior knowledge in modern Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), resulting in data hungry models that learn independent features at each orientation. Allowing CNNs to be rotation-equivariant removes the necessity to learn this set of transformations from the data and instead frees up model capacity, allowing more discriminative features to be learned. This reduction in the number of required parameters also reduces the risk of overfitting. In this paper, we propose Dense Steerable Filter CNNs (DSF-CNNs) that use group convolutions with multiple rotated copies of each filter in a densely connected framework. Each filter is defined as a linear combination of steerable basis filters, enabling exact rotation and decreasing the number of trainable parameters compared to standard filters. We also provide the first in-depth comparison of different rotation-equivariant CNNs for histology image analysis and demonstrate the advantage of encoding rotational symmetry into modern architectures. We show that DSF-CNNs achieve state-of-the-art performance, with significantly fewer parameters, when applied to three different tasks in the area of computational pathology: breast tumour classification, colon gland segmentation and multi-tissue nuclear segmentation.
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Shekel E, Rosenfeld H, Epstein D, Grinfeld G, Elinger G, Tova Y, Ben-David M, Greenberg V, Sapir E, Zalmanov-Faermann S, Pfeffer R, Levin D. Comparing Different Psychoeducational Interventions to Decrease Treatment Related Anxiety in Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2020.07.1427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Affiliation(s)
- David Epstein
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease Africa, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Chris Kassianides
- Gastroenterology Foundation of South Africa, University of Cape Town , South Africa
| | - Zeenat Gaibee
- Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Cape Town and the Red Cross Memorial Children's Hospital , Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Gillian Watermeyer
- Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Groote Schuur Hospital and Faculty of Health Sciences, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Anne Griffiths
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto , Toronto, Canada
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Epstein D, Mirabelli P, Lövestam Adrian M. Treatment algorithm with dexamethasone intravitreal implant in patients with diabetic macular edema. Acta Ophthalmol 2020; 98:e528-e529. [PMID: 31885209 PMCID: PMC7317982 DOI: 10.1111/aos.14339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- David Epstein
- Department of OphthalmologySankt Erik Eye HospitalKarolinska InstitutetStockholmSweden
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Špacírová Z, Epstein D, García-Mochón L, Rovira J, Olry de Labry Lima A, Espín J. A general framework for classifying costing methods for economic evaluation of health care. Eur J Health Econ 2020; 21:529-542. [PMID: 31960181 PMCID: PMC8149350 DOI: 10.1007/s10198-019-01157-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2019] [Accepted: 11/25/2019] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
According to the most traditional economic evaluation manuals, all "relevant" costs should be included in the economic analysis, taking into account factors such as the patient population, setting, location, year, perspective and time horizon. However, cost information may be designed for other purposes. Health care organisations may lack sophisticated accounting systems and consequently, health economists may be unfamiliar with cost accounting terminology, which may lead to discrepancy in terms used in the economic evaluation literature and management accountancy. This paper identifies new tendencies in costing methodologies in health care and critically comments on each included article. For better clarification of terminology, a pragmatic glossary of terms is proposed. A scoping review of English and Spanish language literature (2005-2018) was conducted to identify new tendencies in costing methodologies in health care. The databases PubMed, Scopus and EconLit were searched. A total of 21 studies were included yielding 43 costing analysis. The most common analysis was top-down micro-costing (49%), followed by top-down gross-costing (37%) and bottom-up micro-costing (14%). Resource data were collected prospectively in 12 top-down studies (32%). Hospital database was the most common way of collection of resource data (44%) in top-down gross-costing studies. In top-down micro-costing studies, the most resource use data collection was the combination of several methods (38%). In general, substantial inconsistencies in the costing methods were found. The convergence of top-down and bottom-up methods may be an important topic in the next decades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zuzana Špacírová
- Andalusian School of Public Health/Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP), Granada, Spain
| | - David Epstein
- Andalusian School of Public Health/Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP), Granada, Spain
- University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Leticia García-Mochón
- Andalusian School of Public Health/Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP), Granada, Spain
- CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain/CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs, Granada, Spain
| | - Joan Rovira
- Andalusian School of Public Health/Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP), Granada, Spain
| | - Antonio Olry de Labry Lima
- Andalusian School of Public Health/Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP), Granada, Spain
- CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain/CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs, Granada, Spain
| | - Jaime Espín
- Andalusian School of Public Health/Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública (EASP), Granada, Spain.
- CIBER en Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Spain/CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.
- Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria ibs, Granada, Spain.
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Epstein D, Negrín Hernández MÁ, Bermúdez Tamayo C, Cantarero Prieto D, Álvarez-Dardet C. [Evidence-based decision making in public health: special edition of Gaceta Sanitaria]. Gac Sanit 2020; 34:316-317. [PMID: 32349914 DOI: 10.1016/j.gaceta.2020.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2020] [Accepted: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- David Epstein
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria, España; Departamento de Economía Aplicada, Universidad de Granada, Granada, España.
| | - Miguel Ángel Negrín Hernández
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria, España; Departamento de Métodos Cuantitativos en Economía y Gestión, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, España
| | - Clara Bermúdez Tamayo
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria, España; Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública, Granada, España; CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), España
| | - David Cantarero Prieto
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria, España; Departamento de Economía, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, España
| | - Carlos Álvarez-Dardet
- Comité Editorial de Gaceta Sanitaria, España; Grupo de Investigación en Salud Pública, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, España
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Javed S, Mahmood A, Fraz MM, Koohbanani NA, Benes K, Tsang YW, Hewitt K, Epstein D, Snead D, Rajpoot N. Cellular community detection for tissue phenotyping in colorectal cancer histology images. Med Image Anal 2020; 63:101696. [PMID: 32330851 DOI: 10.1016/j.media.2020.101696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2019] [Revised: 02/18/2020] [Accepted: 04/02/2020] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Classification of various types of tissue in cancer histology images based on the cellular compositions is an important step towards the development of computational pathology tools for systematic digital profiling of the spatial tumor microenvironment. Most existing methods for tissue phenotyping are limited to the classification of tumor and stroma and require large amount of annotated histology images which are often not available. In the current work, we pose the problem of identifying distinct tissue phenotypes as finding communities in cellular graphs or networks. First, we train a deep neural network for cell detection and classification into five distinct cellular components. Considering the detected nuclei as nodes, potential cell-cell connections are assigned using Delaunay triangulation resulting in a cell-level graph. Based on this cell graph, a feature vector capturing potential cell-cell connection of different types of cells is computed. These feature vectors are used to construct a patch-level graph based on chi-square distance. We map patch-level nodes to the geometric space by representing each node as a vector of geodesic distances from other nodes in the network and iteratively drifting the patch nodes in the direction of positive density gradients towards maximum density regions. The proposed algorithm is evaluated on a publicly available dataset and another new large-scale dataset consisting of 280K patches of seven tissue phenotypes. The estimated communities have significant biological meanings as verified by the expert pathologists. A comparison with current state-of-the-art methods reveals significant performance improvement in tissue phenotyping.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sajid Javed
- Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK; Khalifa University Center for Autonomous Robotic Systems (KUCARS), Abu Dhabi, P.O. Box 127788, UAE
| | - Arif Mahmood
- Department of Computer Science, Information Technology University, Lahore, Pakistan
| | - Muhammad Moazam Fraz
- Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK; National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan
| | | | - Ksenija Benes
- Department of Pathology, University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust, Walsgrave, Coventry, CV2 2DX, UK
| | - Yee-Wah Tsang
- Department of Pathology, University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust, Walsgrave, Coventry, CV2 2DX, UK
| | - Katherine Hewitt
- Department of Pathology, University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust, Walsgrave, Coventry, CV2 2DX, UK
| | - David Epstein
- Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK
| | - David Snead
- Department of Pathology, University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust, Walsgrave, Coventry, CV2 2DX, UK
| | - Nasir Rajpoot
- Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK; Department of Pathology, University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust, Walsgrave, Coventry, CV2 2DX, UK; The Alan Turing Institute, London, UK.
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Oliva-Moreno J, Puig-Junoy J, Trapero-Bertran M, Epstein D, Pinyol C, Sacristán JA. Economic Evaluation for Pricing and Reimbursement of New Drugs in Spain: Fable or Desideratum? Value Health 2020; 23:25-31. [PMID: 31952669 DOI: 10.1016/j.jval.2019.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2018] [Revised: 05/23/2019] [Accepted: 06/21/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The economic evaluation of healthcare technologies has become in many countries a basic tool for reimbursement, pricing and purchasing decisions. OBJECTIVE The objective of this article is to examine the institutional, legal, and political factors that have impeded the application of economic evaluation and the criterion of efficiency in the process of pricing and reimbursement of new medicines in Spain. METHODS Narrative description of the current institutional framework for the use of economic evaluation in pricing and reimbursement in Spain, legal and policy framework in the field of evaluation of new medicines, and stakeholder initiatives and policies related to the use of economic evaluation outside of the pricing and reimbursement process. RESULTS Spain has an institutional framework created and established over the last years that could have facilitated a formal use of economic evaluation in the process of pricing and reimbursement. Nevertheless, the real use of economic evaluation at the central or regional level is still unknown, although application of the efficiency criterion, linking to cost-effectiveness, has been clearly required by Spanish laws and regulations at the national level. We highlight a certain degree of moral hazard from the central government that is not directly responsible for the budget impact of reimbursement and pricing decisions. There are currently a number of ongoing initiatives in the field of economic evaluation by various agents, but they remain uncoordinated. CONCLUSIONS Poor governance at the highest level of decision making is the main reason for the lack of interest in economic evaluation. A profound political change, supported by transparency and accountability, is required before the criterion of efficiency can be fully considered in the process of pricing and reimbursement of new medicines in Spain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Oliva-Moreno
- Department of Economic Analysis and Finance, Universidad de Castilla La-Mancha, Toledo, Spain.
| | - Jaume Puig-Junoy
- Barcelona School of Management, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marta Trapero-Bertran
- Institut de Recerca en Avaluació i Polítiques Públiques, Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
| | - David Epstein
- Department of Applied Economics, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Carme Pinyol
- Market Access Department, Pierre Fabre Ibérica, Barcelona, Spain; ISPOR Spain Chapter, Barcelona, Spain
| | - José Antonio Sacristán
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain; Medical Department, Lilly, Madrid, Spain
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Ruiz-Montero R, Epstein D, Guzmán Herrador B, Espín Balbino J. [Economic evaluation of the introduction of 4CMenB (Bexsero®) in the national vaccine schedule in Spain]. Gac Sanit 2019; 34:318-325. [PMID: 31776044 DOI: 10.1016/j.gaceta.2019.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2019] [Revised: 08/07/2019] [Accepted: 08/13/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Bexsero® (4CMenB), meningococcal B vaccine, was licensed in Europe in 2013. In Spain, despite MenB being the most frequent cause of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD), Bexsero® is recommended and financed for patients at increased risk of IMD but is not financed by the NHS in the routine vaccination schedule. OBJECTIVE to evaluate the cost-utility, epidemiological impact, and total costs of the introduction of 4CMenB into the vaccination schedule to help inform vaccine policy in Spain. METHOD We adapted a cost-utility analysis, a probabilistic decision-tree, to Spain. A cohort of new-born infants in 2015 was modelled with two dosages, using two different strategies: routine vaccination schedule with 4CMenB and non-vaccination. Costs were measured from a payer perspective and benefits were calculated in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). A Monte Carlo analysis and 32 scenarios were performed to assess the robustness and the uncertainty of our results. RESULTS With the 3+1 dosage, routine vaccination prevented 54% of cases and deaths and an incremental cost-utility ratio (ICUR) of 351.389 €/QALY (95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 265,193-538,428) was estimated. The 2+1 dosage prevented 50% of cases and deaths, with an ICUR of 278.556 €/QALY (95%CI: 210,285-430,122). CONCLUSIONS Given the current incidence of invasive meningococcal disease in Spain and the information available from 4CMenB, our model shows that routine vaccination is not cost-effective at the current price. Only with a vaccine price of 1.45 € for the 3+1 schedule or 3.37 € for the 2+1 schedule could it be recommended based on efficiency criteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafael Ruiz-Montero
- Unidad de Gestión Clínica Interniveles de Prevención, Promoción y Vigilancia de la Salud, Hospital Universitario Reina Sofía, Córdoba, España; Instituto Maimónides de Investigación Biomédica de Córdoba (Imibic), Córdoba, España; Facultad de Medicina y Enfermería, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, España.
| | - David Epstein
- Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Universidad de Granada, Granada, España
| | - Bernardo Guzmán Herrador
- Unidad de Gestión Clínica Interniveles de Prevención, Promoción y Vigilancia de la Salud, Hospital Universitario Reina Sofía, Córdoba, España; Instituto Maimónides de Investigación Biomédica de Córdoba (Imibic), Córdoba, España; Facultad de Medicina y Enfermería, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, España
| | - Jaime Espín Balbino
- Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública, Granada, España; Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria (ibs Granada), Granada, España; CIBER de Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), España
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