Published: 02-09-2019

The heoro.com database is updated daily from a systematic search of PubMed for studies relevant to health economics and outcomes research.

In this blog we summarise some of the most important and interesting studies added throughout the month of September 2019.

Studies reporting utilities

• SF-36 values were no different in men with median age 85 years in Finland who were taking statins compared with those not on statins after adjusting for propensity scores. Strandberg 2018 Go to paper on PubMed 
• Mean utility values for untreated intermittent claudication in the Netherlands were 0.675 using SF-6D, 0.648 using EQ-5D UK tariff and 0.715 using EQ-5D Dutch tariff, with modest correlation across instruments. Vaidya 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Population norms for 17 chronic disease utility values were determined using the Health Utilities Index Mark 3 on the 2013-14 Canadian Community Health Survey. Guertin 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• SF-6D utility gain after septorhinoplasty was 0.04 in adults in Germany, from 0.70 to 0.74; the ICER was €94,797/QALY gained. Oladokun 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mean EQ-5D utility score in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer in China was 0.814 and was affected by tumour stage, treatment regimen and line of therapy. Shen 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Veterans Rand-12 scales have been mapped to SF-36 values in US SEER cancer data linked to Medicare Health Outcomes Survey (MHOS) data. Selim 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Fatigue Severity Scale has been mapped to the EQ-5D-3L, SF-6D and Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale-8D in people with multiple sclerosis in the UK. Goodwin 2019 Go to paper on PubMed

Studies validating a PRO instrument

• The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) Multidimensional Fatigue Scale was validated against the Fatigue Severity Scale, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale in adults with severe obesity in Italy. Manzoni 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• The performance of the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Assessment Test was compared with the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire in patients hospitalised with COPD exacerbations in Spain. Ayora 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The multiple sclerosis quality of life-54 (MSQOL-54) was validated in patients with MS in Indonesia. Estiasari 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Amharic Version of the Brief Fatigue Inventory for Assessment of Cancer-Related Fatigue was validated against the EORTC QLQ-C30 in patients with cancer in Ethiopia. Gebremariam 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Integrated Palliative Outcome Score (IPOS)-renal symptom survey was validated against the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Survey-revised and the Kidney Diseases quality of life-short form in patients on haemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis in Australia. Raj 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Haemorrhoid severity score was validated against the Vaizey incontinence score in patients undergoing ligation of haemorrhoids in the UK. Lee 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The COPD Assessment Test was validated against the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire in adults with bronchiectasis in Brazil. Lanza 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• The largest minimal clinically important difference in the Anterior Skull Base Nasal Inventory-12 for endonasal transsphenoidal surgery in the USA was 0.37. Gravbrot 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• The 10-Item Standardized Cosmesis and Health Nasal Outcomes Survey (SCHNOS) was validated against the Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) score in adults undergoing functional and cosmetic rhinoplasty. Moubayed 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review concluded that the SF-36, EQ-5D, EHP-30 and EHP-5 performed well and had data on MCID in patients with endometriosis. Bourdel 2019 Go to paper on PubMed 
• A systematic review found little evidence on the validity of the EQ-5D-3L or 5L, SF-36, SF-12, Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), and Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System Global Health [PROMIS-GH-10] in low back pain. Chiarotto 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found that scores from electronic SF-36 and SF-12 are equivalent to paper-based scores, with mean differences across domain and summary scores of 0.01 to 0.39. White 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Impact of Weight on Quality of Life-Lite Clinical Trials Version (IWQOL-Lite-CT) was validated against the SF-36 in obese adults with or without type 2 diabetes. Kolotkin 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Cerebral Palsy Quality of Life-Teens (CPQoL-Teens) questionnaire was validated in adolescents with cerebral palsy in Bangladesh. Power 2019 Go to paper on PubMed

Other PRO studies

•  Quality of life was lower in patients 4 years after diagnosis of melanoma in Germany than the general population; risk of low QoL linked with anxiety and depression but not tumour stage. Krajewski 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Quality of life on the EORTC QLQ-C30 was not significantly different in people with malignant pleural mesothelioma referred for early palliative care in the UK or Australia compared with controls. Brims 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found that quality of life in children with burns was most commonly assessed with the Burns Outcome Questionnaire; quality of life improved over time. Spronk 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Education for 4 weeks improved Constipation Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (PAC-QOL), and Constipation Severity Instrument (CSI) scores in patients with primary constipation in Turkey. Ozturk 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Rhinoplasty for functional and cosmetic reasons improved scores on the Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation Scale (NOSE) and the 22-item Sinonasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) regardless of mental health status measured with the SF-36 in adults in Australia. Strazdins 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found that several PRO tool scores, including the EQ-5D, SF-36, PANSS, S-QoL and SWN, were correlated with healthcare resource use and work functioning in people with schizophrenia. Germain 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Managing schizophrenia in Belgium with 1- or 3-monthly injections of paliperidone reduced environmental DALYs due to healthcare visits, reduced years of life lost and avoided DALYs compared with treatment interruptions. Debaveye 2019 Go to paper on PubMed

Studies reporting costs and resource use

• Reflexology for 30 minutes a week over 4 weeks improved absenteeism and reduced hospital visits in women with advanced breast cancer in the USA compared with an attention control group. Luo 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review concluded that the costs of fall-related injuries in older Chinese adults was US$16 to $3812 per person per fall; fall incidence was 0.6% to 19.5%, Peng 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found the mean cost of initial lumpectomy for breast cancer was US$1234 to $11786, median cost for patients who require reoperation after lumpectomy was $4511. Grant 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• All-cause and diabetes-related healthcare costs were similar over 1 year in adults with type 2 diabetes who were taking dapagliflozin or sitagliptin in the USA. Parker 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The costs of human papillomavirus-related cancers in Norway in 2014 was estimated to be €39.8 million, >99% due to specialist care; vaccination could reduce costs by up to €17.2 million for cervical cancer, €6.7 m for anal cancer and €4.6m for oropharyngeal cancer. Hylin 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mean estimated annual asthma-related healthcare costs in France were €8222 per patient, of which €7,229 were for controller medications. Nordon 2018 Go to paper on PubMed 
• Community residential aftercare for people leaving mental health hospitals in Norway reduced costs by 38.5% compared with usual care, saving €19,781 in the year after discharge. Roos 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Healthcare costs increase as renal function decreases in adults with type 2 diabetes in the USA: each 1 point reduction in eGFR below 30 is associated with an annual increase of $1870 in total and $1701 in CKD-related healthcare costs. Lage 2019 Go to paper on PubMed 
• Mean cost of the first 2 years of treating people with genital warts in the USA was $6737 more than costs for control patients. Dahlstrom 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Total monthly expenditure on antihypertensives in 1050 adults in Nigeria with uncomplicated hypertension was $15,300; diuretics were most commonly prescribed and 54% of prescriptions were for more than the DDD. Akunne 2019 Go to paper on PubMed

Economic evaluations

• Vaccinating adolescent girls for HPV is highly cost-effective in the UK; adding vaccination of adolescent boys is only cost-effective with 1.5% discounting. Datta 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Tailored therapist-guided internet CBT increases QALYs by 0.059 compared with usual care in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in the Netherlands but also increases costs by €4211. Ferwerda 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Brief, online mini self-help interventions are cost-effective for depression in the Netherlands, reducing societal costs and increasing QALYs compared with usual care. Wijnen 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Percutaneous lymphatic embolisation could be cost-effective for plastic bronchitis in children after Fontan procedure in the USA, with an ICER of $192,105/QALY compared with medical management and $68,030/QALY compared with heart transplantation. Benjamin 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• MRI scans are cost-effective for pancreatic cancer screening in US adults under 76 years with 5-fold increase in risk compared with the general population, endoscopic ultrasound is more cost-effective for those with a 20-fold increase in risk compared with no screening. Corral 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Treating all patients with hepatitis C infection with sofosbuvir plus ledipasvir is cost-effective in the Seychelles, with an ICER of €753.65/QALY gained compared with no treatment. Adeline 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Extended-pulsed fidaxomicin is cost-effective compared with vancomycin for Clostridum difficile infection in patients aged 60 years and older in Spain Go to paper on PubMed
• Elective sigmoid resection is not cost-effective compared with conservative treatment of recurrent diverticulitis at 1 year in the Netherlands but is cost-effective at 5 years, with an ICER of €6275/QALY. Bolkerstein 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Pembrolizumab may be cost-effective as first-line therapy for non-small-cell lung cancer in the USA, with an ICER of $49,000 per end-of-life adjusted QALY, but not in the UK, with an ICER of $52,000 per EoL-adjusted QALY. Georgieva 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Olanzapine orally-disintegrating tablets are cost-effective compared with standard oral tablets in people with schizophrenia in China, with an ICER of US$16,789/QALY, and cost-saving compared with aripiprazole. Zhao 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Patiromer plus spironolactone plus ACE inhibitor was cost-effective compared with ACE inhibitor alone in adults with heart failure who were unable to otherwise tolerate spironolactone due to hyperkalemia, with an ICER of $52,700/QALY gained in the USA. Bounthavong 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• A budget impact analysis found that the additional costs of ocriplasmin compared with vitrectomy for symptomatic vitreomacular adhesion would be $0.0060 per health plan member per month over 2 years in the USA.Yu 2018 Go to paper on PubMed

Studies reporting mortality rates or trends

• Prostate Cancer Specific Comorbidity Index scores of 0 corresponded to a 10-year mortality of 15% in men with prostate cancer in the USA, a mortality of 69% was found with scores of 10 or greater. Daskivich 2019 Go to paper on PubMed 
• Five-year survival from oral cancer in Malaysia is 40.9% with no significant difference between ethnic groups. Ghani 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Reduction in mortality from breast cancer of 0.9 to 1.2% per year in Western European countries was seen after the establishment of breast cancer screening programmes.  Iwamoto 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Median progression-free survival in HR+ metastatic breast cancer was 12.1 months and OS was 38.4 months in the USA in 2013-15; for triple-negative breast cancer, PFS was 6.1 months and OS 23.4 months. Houts 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Individual patient-level modelling of women in Denmark found that screening reduced breast cancer-related mortality by 20% in those invited for screening. Beau 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Total cholesterol levels have a U shaped mortality curve for CVD and reverse L shaped curve for ischaemic heart disease in Korean adults; total cholesterol levels of 180 to 200 mg/dL were associated with the lowest CVD mortality. Kwon 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Eight-year mortality in patients with COPD and comorbid heart failure was 7-times higher than patients with COPD alone in Sweden. Kaszuba 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• One-year survival after ICU admission remained constant in Korea, from 66.7% in 2003 to 64.2% in 2010; the proportion of patients aged 80 years and older increased from 7.3% in 2002 to 23.1% in 2013. |Kim 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mortality statistics in South Africa can be a surrogate for occupational health surveillance: pneumoconiosis deaths were more commonly recorded in people working in mining, manufacturing, engineering and mechanics. Wilson 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• As eGFR fell, the proportion of deaths due to CVD, infections, diabetes and genito-urinary diseases increased in Sweden in 2006 to 2012, deaths due to cancer decreased. Runesson 2019 Go to paper on PubMed