Published: 01-02-2018

We add new studies on health economics and outcomes research to our heoro.com database every day from a systematic search of PubMed. In this blog, we are tracking some of the key new papers that were added during February 2018.

Papers reporting utility values

•  Neuropathic pain was present in 36% of Korean patients with cancer and was associated with reduced EQ-5D utility values after adjusting for other variables. Oh 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Similar SF-36 values and weight loss were found in obese adults in the UK after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy and laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. Macano 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• EQ-5D utility values in people in China with influenza in 2013 were 0.6142 for those managed as outpatients, with a mean loss of 1.62 quality-adjusted life-days, and 0.5851 for those treated as inpatients, with a mean QALD loss of 3.51 days. Yang 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The EQ-5D-3L value sets, using the EQ-VAS, were attributed lower values to most severe health states but higher values for mild health states by people in Iran than those in the UK. Kiadaliri 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• An RCT found that yoga increased EQ-5D values, with a mean difference of 0.12 after 3 months compared with a waiting list control, in older UK adults who were physically inactive, with improvements also in Short Physical Performance Battery and Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale scores. Tew 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Median SF-6D utility values in Brazilian patients with coronary artery disease were 0.809 for those having percutaneous coronary interventions, 0.755 for those with medical management and 0.780 for those having coronary artery bypass grafts. Brandao 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Quality of life on the SF-36 was lower in patients in the Netherlands with primary hyperparathyroidism before parathyroidectomy than in patients having hemithyroidectomy, but improved more after surgery. Dulfer 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• Dutch adults with HIV infection had worse physical and mental quality of life and were more likely to have depression than those without HIV, measured on the SF-36 and Patient Health Questionnaire; those with comorbidities also had worse quality of life than those without. Langebeek 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found that the utility value for a patient with stage I to III colorectal cancer more than 1 year after surgery was 0.90, and were 0.19 lower with stage IV CRC; stage, time to or from initial care, and utility measurement instrument significantly altered utility values. Djalalov 2014 Go to paper on PubMed
• Physical SF-36 utility values were worse in patients in the USA with rheumatoid interstitial lung disease than idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Natalini 2017 Go to paper on PubMed

Papers validating a PRO instrument

• The HCV Symptom Index was validated in US adults with both HIV and Hepatitis C infection who were receiving treatment for Hepatitis C and was responsive to different treatment effects. Cachay 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The MD Anderson Symptom Inventory-Head-and-Neck-Filipino scale was validated in adults in the Philippines with head and neck cancer. Bacorro 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• In patients with spine metastases in the USA, the Spine Oncology Study Group Outcome Questionnaire (SOSG-OQ) was best for assessing quality of life, the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Physical Function was best for measuring physical function, the PROMIS Pain Intensity scale was best for measuring pain; the EQ-5D was less reliable than these other measures. Paulino Pereira 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The FertiMed questionnaire evaluating experiences of hormone fertility treatment as part of IVF was validated in adults in the Netherlands and Belgium. Lankreijer 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Australian Treatment Outcomes Profile was validated against the AUDIT, SF-12, Physical Health Questionnaire-15 and the Geriatric Depression Scale in older adults with alcohol and substance abuse in Australia. Lintzeris 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Vascular Quality of Life-6 Questionnaire was validated against the SF-36 in Swedish patients with peripheral vascular disease. Kumlien 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Vascular Quality of Life-6 Questionnaire was also validated against the SF-36 in patients in Norway with peripheral vascular disease. Larsen 2017 Go to paper on Pubmed
• The Spanish Oxford Knee Score was validated against the EQ-5D and WOMAC in adults with knee osteoarthritis in Spain. Martin-Fernandez 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Mobile Patient Survey was validated as a measure of pruritus and quality of life in German adults with pruritus. Storck 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Adult survivors of childhood and young adult cancer in Canada reported on the ease of use and relevance of the Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire, Exercise Self-Efficacy Scale, Physical Self-Description Questionnaire, Rosenberg Global Self-Esteem Scale, Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire, Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) and SF-36 to assess physical activity and psychosocial outcomes. Wurz 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Self-reported scores in patients in France with sinonasal disorders using the DyNaChron questionnaire were different before and after a consultation. Nguyen 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A Mandarin version of the Stroke and Aphasia Quality of Life Scale (SAQOL-39 g) was validated in stroke survivors in Singapore against a number of other PRO instruments including the Barthel Index, EQ-5D, CES-D and modified Rankin scale. Guo 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• A Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score of 3.0 or greater was able to predict all-cause mortality 90 days after admission in adults aged 80 years and older in China with hypertension, with a sensitivity of 77.8% and specificity of 64.7%. Sun 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• An electronic version of the EORTC QLQ-C30 was validated against paper versions in women with breast cancer in Germany. Wallwiener 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The IBD Self-efficacy scale was validated in Canadian patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Graff 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Vanderbilt Cystectomy Index was validated against the SF-36 in Korean adults having radical cystectomy for bladder cancer. Kim 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Inflammatory Bowel Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire (IBDQOL-22) was developed and validated against the SF-36 in patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease in China. Ruan 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Focus on the Outcomes of Communication Under Six questionnaire was validated against the Kiddy-KINDL in German children with speech impairments. Neumann 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found ten instruments to assess functional knee outcomes in Spanish; most had been adequately validated. Gomez-Valero 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Standardized Universal Pain Evaluations for Rheumatology Providers for Children and Youth (SUPER-KIDZ) was validated against the Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire and Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System in children with idiopathic arthritis. Luca 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The deep brain stimulation impairment scale (DBS-IS) was developed and validated in patients having deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease in Germany. Maier 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Population norms were assessed for the Scoliosis Research Society 22r questionnaire, and its correlation with the EQ-5D determined in Swedish adolescents and adults. Diarbakerli 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Algoplus scale was validated against the PAINAD scale to assess pain in elderly patients with dementia in Italy. Monacelli 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Child Behaviour Checklist can accurately identify children with autistic spectrum disorder in Germany, with optimal cut-off points of 64.5 on the Pervasive Developmental Problems scale and 60.5 on the Withdrawn scale. Limberg 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Impact of Hearing Loss Inventory Tool  IHEAR-IT  was validated against the SF-36 and Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly/Adults in adults developing hearing loss in the USA. Stika 2015 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Paediatric Self-Stigmatization Scale (PaedS) was validated against the Self-Perception Profile for Children, the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in UK children receiving treatment for mental health problems. Kaushik 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Rhinosinusitis Disability Index was translated and validated for use in patients in Nigeria with chronic rhinosinusitis. Asoegwu 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A Chinese version of the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life questionnaire was validated against the Kupperman Index in women with and without symptoms of the menopause. Nie 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Clinicians recorded higher proxy scores on the Coeliac Disease Quality of Life Score than patients aged under 25 years in the Netherlands with Coeliac disease. Vriezinga 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A questionnaire to assess time spent on self-care was validated against the PAID-5 in German patients with type 2 diabetes. Chernyak 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found 7 PRO instruments that had been at least partially validated for use in systemic sclerosis. Ingegnoli 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire was validated in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis receiving treatment with nintedanib. Swigris 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) was validated in the general public in Bangladesh. Mumu 2017 Go to paper on PubMed

Other PRO studies

•  The minimum differences that reflect patient satisfaction after arthroplasty for arthritis in the shoulder were 78 for the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, 18 for the Western Ontario Osteoarthritis of the Shoulder (WOOS) index, 73 for the Constant-Murley shoulder score and 58 for the  Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation (SANE) score; the Constant-Murley shoulder score was the most responsive. Sciascia 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review concluded that a subset of children with traumatic brain injury or concussion have impaired quality of life for up to a year after the event. Fineblit 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) was validated against the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview in South African patients attending emergency centres and could differentiate well between substance use and abuse. van der Westhuizen 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• Quality of life scores on the KIDSCREEN-27 parent-report questionnaire were similar in patients with Down's syndrome and European population norms. Rofail 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The VVSymQ instrument was validated in adults in the USA who were receiving treatment for varicose veins. Paty 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• Cardiac rehabilitation with diet education and exercise improved quality of life on the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ), and reduced 90-day readmission rate compared with usual care in patients with heart failure in Taiwan. Chen 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found that quality of life, self-esteem and satisfaction were improved after bariatric surgery with body recontouring surgery, but adjustment to the new body image can be challenging. Gilmartin 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• Differences have been identified in the age of caregivers of people with dementia in the Netherlands, their relationship with the patient, the severity of dementia and their response to stress that affect their quality of life, depression and perseverence time. Janssen 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Quality of life on the Heinrichs-Carpenter Quality of Life Scale, Clinical Global Impressions of Improvement and Severity and work readiness were greater after 28 weeks  in patients with schizophrenia receiving aripiprazole than paliperidone. Potkin 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The ICECAP-Close Person Measure was developed to assess the benefits of end-of-life care in caregivers in the UK, for economic evaluations. Canaway 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found 32 PRO instruments designed to assess voice-related outcomes; their quality was very variable. Francis 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• 2% of patients in Australia who had sentinel lymph node biopsy for melanoma developed lymphoedema; quality of life, measured on the FACT-Breast questionnaire, was lower in those who perceived that they had lymphoedema. Morton 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Well-being in Swedish people aged 18 years on the Gothenburg Well-Being in adolescence scale was lower in those born in 1990 than those born in 1974, after adjusting for higher BMIs in the later cohort. Brann 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Rhinoplasty Outcomes Evaluation questionnaire correlated with patient satisfaction after rhinoplasty in Saudi Arabia. Alharethy 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found four PRO tools designed to assess emergency care; their responsiveness had not been assessed. Male 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found mixed evidence on the impact of respite care on caregivers of people with dementia; day care may reduce burden but accelerates the time to nursing home admission. Vandepitte 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• 34% of patients reported pain at the site of sentinel lymph node biopsy after melanoma treatment in the UK and 1.8% were at high risk of neuropathic pain; pain was the only factor to independently worsen quality of life. Thomson 2017 Go to paper onPubMed
• Quality of life on the Child Health Questionnaire was largely unimpaired in children and adolescents with untreated chronic hepatitis B infection in the USA and Canada. Schwarzenberg 2017 Go to paper on PubMed

Studies reporting costs and resource use

• Sore throat accounted for 2.3% of consultations with family practice trainees in Australia in 2010-14; antibiotics were prescribed in 71.5% of cases. Dallas 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• The proportion of patients who received treatment for liver metastases from colorectal cancer in the USA increased from 38% in 1998 to 68% in 2012; increases were greatest for chemotherapy and ablative procedures. Orcutt 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Typical costs of falls, poisonings and scalds in children under 5 years of age in the UK were £100-180 for emergency centre visits, £700-1000 for the 35% who were admitted for up to 1 day and £2000-3000 for the 4% who were admitted for 2 or more days; scalds incurred highest costs. Cooper 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• The average 3-year societal costs of bleeding events in patients taking anticoagulants for atrial fibrillation in Denmark were €27,627 for intracranial bleeds, €17,868 for gastrointestinal bleeds and €12,384 for other bleeds, compared with €24,084 for ischaemic strokes. Jakobsen 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• 25% of patients in the USA who were recommended  treatment for osteoporosis did not start therapy, mainly because they were worried about adverse events; patients with greater knowledge about osteoporosis were less likely to start therapy. Hall 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review concluded that school-based family educational interventions can improve the quality of life and reduce school absence and hospital visits for exacerbations in children with asthma. Walter 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• Two-year costs were similar for obese patients with type 2 diabetes in the USA who had bariatric surgery and those who had intensive lifestyle and medical management. Banerjee 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review concluded that text messaging interventions can increase uptake of screening for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer, with absolute increases of 0.6 to 15%. Uy 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• 22% of appendicectomies in one UK hospital were negative for appendicitis, with an additional cost of £270,861; routine imaging to reduce this to 5% could save £33,896 with MRI scans, £105,896 with CT scans or £132,296 with ultrasound scans. D'Souza 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Costs of robotic-assisted laparoscopy were 37% higher than standard laparoscopy for women with endometrial cancer in Finland, mainly due to amortisation costs of the robot. Vuorinen 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• 19% of hospital admissions for acute respiratory infections in children under 5 years of age in Pakistan in 2009 to 2012 were for respiratory syncytial virus infections; 22% of these were in infants under 3 months old. Ali 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• An RCT found short-cycle therapy with efavirenz and two NRTIs improved adherence to therapy in adolescents with HIV infections compared with standard HAART, with fewer adverse events but similar viral load. Butler 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found few interventions that had been tested to improve adherence to HAART in HIV-positive adolescents, but mobile health, group counselling and community-based care may be effective. Ridgeway 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• A literature review concluded that SMS messaging can improve adherence to vaccination of children in Africa. Manakongtreecheep 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Direct costs were lower in people in Germany with COPD and alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency than those with other forms of COPD, excluding augmentation therapy costs; quality of life and indirect costs were not significantly different. Karl 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mean costs of formal care of patients with chronic disease who had breathlessness in the UK was £3253, of which >60% was for hospital admissions; adding informal care costs increased this by >250%, with additional costs of £629 per unit increase in disability score. Dzingina 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Average costs of delivering routine childhood vaccinations in middle-income countries ranged from $2.75 to $13.63 per dose or $27 to $139 per child receiving diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccines; doubling service volume was associated with a 19% reduction in costs per dose delivered. Menzies 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Costs of managing prolactinoma with bromocriptine are less than those of trans-sphenoidal surgery in China. Duan 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Incremental societal costs associated with obesity in adults in the USA were $28,020 for metabolically healthy 20 year olds and $36,278 for a 50 year old; at least half the cost was due to productivity losses. Fallah-Fini 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mean inpatient costs of treatment of diabetic foot ulcers in the Netherlands in 2013-14 were US$10,827 per episode, with a median duration of 17 weeks. Rinkel 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• $890 million (5.8%) of the annual societal cost of depression was attributable to job strain in employed Australians, largely borne by employers in reduced productivity and job turnover. Cocker 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Adjusted difference in total direct healthcare expenditures was $4746 in adults in the US with CKD, $8608 for cancer and $5992 for stroke vs. group without CKD, cancer or stroke; adjusted difference in out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures was highest for adults with CKD ($760) than cancer ($419) or stroke ($246). Small 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mean costs of one episode of pneumonia in elderly nursing home residents in France was €2813, increasing total annual costs by 60% to 93%. Costa 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Children under 5 years old who were admitted to hospital for rotavirus infection or other gastroenteritis in Norway were absent from daycare for a mean of 6.3 days; 74% of their caregivers reported work absenteeism, with a mean duration of 5.9 days. Edwards 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found that behaviour change techniques can increase adherence to screening for diabetic retinopathy; heterogeneous evidence means that the relative efficacy and cost-effectiveness of interventions are still unclear. Lawrenson 2018 Go to paper on PubMed

Economic evaluations

• A benefit-based tailored treatment of patients with type 2 diabetes would avert 24-30% more complications and save US$4 to 300 per DALY averted compared with a treat-to-target approach for managing risk factors in low- and middle-income countries. Basu 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• A new strategy to identify uncomplicated gallstones in patients who might benefit from cholecystectomy could be cost-effective in the Netherlands compared with usual care, with an ICER of €4114 per extra patient free of abdominal pain. Lamberts 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The quadrivalent influenza vaccine is likely to be cost-effective in England compared with the trivalent vaccine in higher-risk populations, with an incremental cost of £0.20 to £6.36 per dose. Thorrington 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Low-dose CT scan screening for lung cancer can be cost-effective in Germany compared with no screening, with a reduction in lung cancer mortality of 9.7 to 12.8% and an ICER of €16,754 to €23,847 per life-year gained. Treskova 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Paliperidone was less cost-effective than haloperidol in US adults with schizophrenia, with an ICER of $508,241/QALY gained. Rosenheck 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• Initiating antiretroviral therapy at a first clinic visit for HIV increases the cost per patient enrolled ($451 vs $319) but reduces total costs ($707 vs $738)compared with usual care in South Africa.  Long 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A home safety assessment and modification to prevent falls was cost-effective in New Zealand for community-dwelling adults aged 65 years and older, with an ICER of US$6000/QALY. Pega 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• Nonavalent human papillomavirus vaccine HPV9 is likely to be cost-effective in Australia compared with the current HPV4 vaccine if the additional cost per dose is less than AU$23-36, with an additional 11% decrease in cervical cancer diagnoses and deaths. Simms 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• Routine childhood vaccinations for 14 diseases in the USA 2009 birth cohort will have saved 1.2million QALYs compared with no vaccination, with a social gain of $184.1 billion, of which $3.4 billion were manufacturer profits. Philipson 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• In women in the UK undergoing primary repair of pelvic organ prolapse, mesh inlay or biological grafts are no better and are not cost-effective compared with standard repair. Glazener 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• Sending self-sampling kits for cervical HPV every 10 years to women who were non-compliant with cervical smears in Norway could be cost-effective, with an ICER of $95,500/QALY gained. Burger 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Universal screening for hepatitis C infection in the USA could generate net societal benefit if treatment is started early, with $0.68 billion social value if patients are treated at fibrosis stage F3-4, but $824 billion value if treatment starts at stage F0-F4. Linthicum 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• Age-based vaccination against West Nile virus is more cost-effective than universal vaccination in the USA, with the cost per QALY lowest for 60-year-olds, cost per case averted lowest for 40-50-year-olds  and cost per life-year saved lowest for 70-year-olds. Shankar 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Deep brain stimulation is cost-effective for obsessive-compulsive disorder in the long term in the Netherlands, with an ICER of €80,313/QALY over 4 years, and can be cost-saving if rechargable batteries are used. Ooms 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review of the cost-effectiveness of biologicals in psoriasis found that adalimumab was most commonly found to be most cost-effective, followed by ustekinumab; however, more recent publications favoured secukinumab and apremilast. Kromer 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Prophylaxis with palivizumab against respiratory syncytial virus infection in preterm infants  is cost-effective in Spain from a societal perspective compared with no prophylaxis, with an ICER of €19,698/QALY gained. Sanchez-Luna 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Routine infant vaccination for rotavirus can be cost-effective in Japan, with an ICER of US$64,877/QALY over 5 years from a payer's perspective, and may be cost-saving from a societal perspective. Hoshi 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A two-dose regimen of HPV 16/18 vaccine is cost-effective in adolescent girls in the Philippines compared with the HPV 6/11/16/18 vaccine, with more QALYs and lower costs. Germar 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Vortioxetine was cost-effective as third-line therapy in treatment-resistant depression in the UK compared with escitalopram, citalopram and sertraline and was dominant compared with venlafaxine and duloxetine. Young 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Extended-release naltrexone is unlikely to be cost-effective to prevent relapse in US adults in the criminal justice system with opioid abuse, with an ICER of $162150 /QALY and $46,329 per additional year of abstinence at 25 weeks and $76,400/QALY and $16,371/abstinent year at 78 weeks. Murphy 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Secukinumab had a lower cost per responder than other biologicals in patients with psoriasis in Spain, followed by infliximab and ustekinumab. Puig 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Routine vaccination with typhoid conjugate vaccine is likely to be cost-effective in India, Kenya and Vietnam, and a one-time catch-up programme could be cost-saving. Antillon 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Short-cycle therapy, where young people with HIV infection take efavirenz-based therapy for 5 days a week, was cost-effective in 11 countries, improving QALYs and saving US$41 to US$4346 per patient over 48 weeks compared with standard care. Tierrablanca 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Two-yearly fecal occult blood screening of Australian adults aged 50-74 years is cost-effective at the current 40% uptake levels, with an ICER of AUS$3014 per life-year saved compared with no screening by 2020, and would be cost-saving by 2030. Lew 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Providing naloxone for IV drug abusers is a cost-effective way to prevent HIV infection in the USA, with an ICER of $323/QALY; naloxone with addiction treatment was cost-saving; naloxone + addiction treatment + PrEP is also cost-effective, $95,337/QALY. Uyei 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Echocardiographic screening for rheumatic heart disease in Australian indigenous children is cost-effective assuming this leads to a 2+ year earlier diagnosis, with an ICER <AU$50,000/DALY averted. Roberts 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Tobramycin given as an inhalation powder is cost-saving compared with inhalation solution in US patients with cystic fibrosis, with 0.27 more QALYs over 10 years and $36,168 lower costs. Panguluri 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Tele-homecare for community-dwelling elderly in Japan has a net benefit of US$97 to $417, with greater benefits from a non-government-funded system where users pay a monthly contribution compared with government funding. Akiyama 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Internet-based CBT is cost-saving for US adults with generalised anxiety disorder, with 34,108 more QALYs and saving $2.23 billion per 100,000 people compared with traditional CBT. Kumar 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found few economic evaluations of vaccines in Hong Kong, but those that were found showed that vaccination was highly cost-effective. Wong 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Vaccinating Japanese adults aged 65 to 84 years against varicella zoster is cost-effective, with an ICER below US$45,662/QALY gained. Hoshi 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review of economic evaluations of testing for hepatitis C infection concluded that screening high-risk populations and birth cohorts was likely to be cost-effective in low and middle-income countries. Morgan 2017 Go to paper onPubMed
• Preoperative supervised neuromuscular exercise for 8 weeks before total hip or knee arthroplasty increased QALYs significantly with no additional total direct costs in Denmark compared with no exercise. Fernandes 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• CT angiography and stress echocardiography are the most cost-effective tests to diagnose stable coronary artery disease in Brazil, with ICERs of I$ 286 and I$ 305 per correct diagnosis. Bertoldi 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A cost-benefit analysis concluded that candesartan was the most cost-effective angiotensin-II receptor inhibitor for hypertension in Italy. Mazza 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Telemedicine assessment of acutely ill or injured children in remote areas of  the USA can save $1.96 for every $1 invested compared with telephone consultations. Yang 2015 Go to paper on PubMed
• Early use of whole genome sequencing in children suspected of having genetic disorders in Australia can be cost-saving by avoiding the need of extensive standard tests, and costs an additional AU$8,112 per case diagnosed when conducted after standard diagnostic processes. Stark 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Cardiac rehabilitation after heart valve surgery did not increase EQ-5D quality of life values but was likely to be cost-effective compared with no rehabilitation in Denmark. Hansen 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Percutaneous coronary intervention with cobalt-chromium everolimus eluting stents is cost-saving and increases QALYs compared with bare metal stents in the USA. Ferko 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Screening for and treating postnatal depression or psychosis is cost-effective in the USA, with an ICER of $13,857 per QALY gained compared with usual care. Wilkinson 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• HLA-B*5801 testing before starting allopurinol treatment for gout was cost-effective for African Americans (ICER $83,450) and Asians (ICER $64,190), but not for Caucasians or Hispanics in the USA. Jutkowitz 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Motivational enhancement therapy with cognitive behavioral therapy (MET-CBT) led to similar direct costs and outcomes as brief advice in pregnant women with substance abuse in the USA. Xu 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Surgery for spinal metastases is cost-effective in Japan, with an ICER of $42,003/QALY gained compared with no surgery. Miyazaki 2017 Go to paper on PubMed

Studies reporting mortality

•  Gains in survival from azacitidine, lenalidomide, and decitabine for myelodysplastic syndromes are estimated at 73% (57 months vs 33 months previously), leading to $193 billion cumulative value gained in USA. MacEwan 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Overall survival from advanced head and neck cancer in elderly people in the USA between 2004-2009 ranged from 45 months in Kentucky to 58 months in Washington; mean costs ranged from $51,857 in Utah to $82,181 in Detroit; costs correlated poorly with survival. Divi 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• Diabetes reduces life expectancy in 50-year-old Americans by 5-7 years and reduces the age of first onset of cognitive impairment by 3 years in men and 4 years in women. Diaz-Venegas 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Regular surveillance of women for recurrent ovarian cancer led to minimal differences in progression-free and overall survival compared with no surveillance. Alexander 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• 11.7% of patients with type 1 diabetes in Finland also had chronic kidney disease; leisure-time physical activity independently decreased the risk of all-cause mortality in those with and without CKD. Tikkanen-Dolenc 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Overdoses account for 85% of all deaths in the first week after release from prison in Norway; the risk of death is highest in the first week, especially on day 2 after release, and in those who had served a 3-12 month sentence, but was lower in 2010-14 than 2005-09. Bukten 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Continued smoking after laryngectomy for laryngeal cancer in Germany was linked to a 30% but non-significant decrease in 5-year overall survival compared with quitting; high alcohol consumption increased the risk of mortality significantly with a HR of 2.19. Eichler 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• Elderly Australians with hip fracture had a 3.5 times higher risk of mortality in the following 12 months than non-injured controls; the fracture was likely to be contributory to death in 72% of cases. Lystad 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Men living with HIV infections in Canada aged 20 years had a health-adjusted life expectancy of 31 years compared with 58 years in the HIV-negative population between 1996 and 2012; 20-year-old women with HIV had a health-adjusted life expectancy of 27 years compared with 63 years for those who were HIV-negative. Overall life expectancy was 36 years shorter in 20-year-old adults with HIV compared with those without HIV. Hogg 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The proportion of life spent in good perceived health between ages 50 and 75 years was 81% in those of normal body weight compared with 53% in those with class II obesity in the UK, Finland, France and Sweden; an absolute  difference of 7 years. Stenholm 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• HPV screening and colposcopy could reduce cervical cancer mortality by 36% in unvaccinated women, 29% in those offered HPV vaccines, compared with cytology-based cervical screening in Australia. Lew 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• All-cause mortality in people diagnosed with HIV infection in the UK in 1997 to 2012 was 118/10,000 person-years, SMR was 5.7 overall and 24.3 in the first year after diagnosis; mortality was lower in those diagnosed since 2003 than those diagnosed earlier, HR 0.66. Croxford 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Unadjusted mortality in adults with atrial fibrillation in Greece was 0.7% with rhythm control and 2.3% with rate control after 1 year and 0.6% and 2.8% at the end of year 2. Vardas 2015 Go to paper on PubMed
• In-hospital and 1-year mortality was higher in adults in Taiwan admitted for myocardial infarction who also had COPD than those without COPD, adjusted HR=1.25 during admission and 1.20 at 1 year; patients with COPD were less likely to be given secondary prevention drugs or interventions. Su 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The risk of cardiovascular mortality in Japanese adults was significantly raised in those with diabetes and chronic kidney disease, HR=1.63 with diabetes, 1.42 with CKD and 2.37 for both conditions.  Hirata 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• New Grade Groups from biopsy and radical prostatectomy samples were validated against survival at 1 to 4 years in men with prostate cancer and were as accurate as existing models at predicting mortality. Mathieu 2017 Go to paper on PubMed