Published: 03-01-2018

We have been going back over older papers indexed in PubMed this month to expand the content of heoro.com, as well as our daily search to find the newly-released papers that meet our search terms. This blog describes some of the key papers added during January 2018. 

Utility studies

• Health utility values in living donors in France, measured with the EQ-5D-3L and the SF-6D, were still lower than baseline 3 months after donating a kidney; experiencing complications significantly increased the risk of a lower utility value. Hosseini 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Patients with multimorbidity have impaired quality of life, measured with the EQ-5D-3L than the general population in Switzerland; mean EQ-5D was 0.70 and mean EQ-VAS was 63.2. N'Goran 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Substantial discordance was found in utility measurements between the SF-6D and HUI-3 in patients with neurological diseases in Canada; the mean difference in utility was 0.15. Abel 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• SF-36 quality of life values were not significantly different in Mexican survivors of leukaemia who had a haemopoietic stem cell transplant with reduced intensity conditioning compared with a reference population. Gonzalez-Ramirez 2015 Go to paper on PubMed
• Quality of life, measured with the SF-36, was better after parathyroidectomy with forearm auto-transplantation than parathyroidectomy alone in adults in China with chronic kidney disease. Li 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Incidence of cranial nerve injury after carotid endarterectomy was 4.6% in the USA and Canada; however, impact on quality of life, measured with the SF-36, was minimal. Hye 2015 Go to paper on PubMed
• Lapatinib increases adverse events compared with placebo in women with early HER-2 positive breast cancer, but this was not associated with a clinically-meaningful deterioration of SF-36 quality of life values. Boyle 2015 Go to paper on PubMed
• A Chinese version of the Constant-Murley questionnaire was validated against a VAS score and SF-36 values in adults with shoulder pain. Yao 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index correlates well with the SF-36 in elderly adults receiving haemodialysis in Israel, but albumin levels were better predictors of mortality. Beberashvili 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found utility decrement values in adults with type 2 diabetes were 0.017 to 0.226 in the first year after a myocardial infarction and 0.034 to 0.590 after a stroke. Brennan 2015 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Spanish version of the Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire - adult form (FAQLQ-AF) was validated against the Food Allergy Independent Measure (FAIM); it correlated less strongly with the SF-12. Antolin-Amerigo 2015 Go to paper on PubMed
• Population-based utility values on the EQ-5D were similar for different approaches to prevent or screen for cervical cancer among Australian women, including HPV vaccination, and were higher than for developing cervical cancer. Simonella 2014 Go to paper on PubMed
• Utility values for dementia health states, measured on the DEMQOL instrument, were lower when reported by patients with mild dementia and caregivers than with the general population in the UK. Rowen 2015 Go to paper on PubMed
• Utility values for symptomatic uterine fibroids were determined in Canadian women; values for uncontrolled bleeding were 0.55, with a decrement of 0.06 for hot flashes. Hux 2015 Go to paper on PubMed
• The EQ-5D-5L was used to determine utility values in patients with melanoma in Belgium; the EQ-VAS and FACT-Melanoma were less sensitive to treatment effects than the EQ-5D. Tromme 2014 Go to paper on PubMed
• Vertebral fracture rate fell and quality of life on the EQ-5D and pain VAS improved in adults taking teriparatide for osteoporosis. Langdahl 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• In women with pelvic organ prolapse and urinary and/or faecal incontinence, utility values from the HUI-3, SF-6D and EQ-5D correlated well with quality of life scores from the Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory and the Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire; the VAS did not correlate as wellw ith the other instruments. Harvie 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Quality of life trajectories were determined using the SF-36 for adults in the USA who received haemopoietic stem cell transplantation; after 180 days, patients could be categorised into three physical and four mental quality of life trajectories. Jim 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• Minimal Clinically Important Differences for patients having treatment for vestibular schwannoma in the USA were 11 points on the Penn Acoustic Neuroma Quality of Life Scale (PANQOL), 7 points on the SF-36 Mental Health Component scale and 8 points for the SF-36 Physical Health Component scale. Carlson 2015 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review of preferences of patients with head and neck cancer found that most prioritised survival over functional outcomes, but some survival decrease would be preferable to avoid laryngectomy. Blanchard 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found that quality of life, measured on the SF-12, SF-36 and VEINES-QOL instruments, was impaired in patients who developed CTEPH and post-thrombotic syndrome after thromboembolism, but was not worse than population norms in those who had a DVT. Lubberts 2016 Go to paper on PubMed

Other patient-reported outcome studies

• The AFImpact instrument was developed and validated as responsive to change in Swedish adults with atrial fibrillation who were undergoing cardioversion. Coyne 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review identified many PRO instruments that had been used in paediatric otolaryngology studies. Powell 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• A Japanese version of the Central Sensitization Inventory has been validated against the EQ-5D in patients with musculoskeletal pain and central sensitivity syndrome. Tanaka 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Pain is common in patients with atopic dermatitis; it correlates best with the Patient-Oriented Eczaema Measure, then ItchyQOL, 5-dimensions of itch scale, Dermatology Life Quality Index, numeric rating scale for itch and sleep, Patient Health Questionnaire 9, patient-reported global AD severity, Eczema Area and Severity Index, and objective Scoring AD index. Vakharia 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A comparison of two short-form versions of the Stroke-Specific Quality of Life scale found that Post's version was superior to Wong's version in Taiwanese adults with stroke. Chou 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale was validated in patients with asthma in Slovenia; adherence correlated with the Asthma Control Test and St George's Respiratory Questionnaire scores. Janezic 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease is common in type 1 diabetes in Mexico; the FSSG questionnaire is more sensitive at detecting GERD than the Carlsson-Dent Questionnaire. Valdez-Solis 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A daily electronic diary version of the Psoriasis Symptoim Inventory was validated against the SF-36, PASI and DLQI in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Viswanathan 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A meta-analysis found that patients with multiple myeloma experience widespread physical, emotional and social challenges over a typically long course. Hauksdottir 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The ThyPRO instrument was validated in patients with thyroid disease in Serbia. Bukvic 2015 Go to paper on PubMed
• Quality of life, measured with the Glaucoma Quality of Life-15 questionnaire, is worse in people with glaucoma than the general public and correlates with disease severity. Wang 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Bowel quality of life, measured with the EPIC and SF-36 questionnaires, was lower in patients who had radiotherapy than active surveillance for low-risk prostate cancer in the USA. Banerji 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Depression in adults with chronic kidney disease who were not on dialysis, measured by a score of 8 or more on the QIDS-SR16 questionnaire, was predictive of a composite endpoint of death, dialysis or hospitalisation in the USA. Jain 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• A Dutch version of the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire was validated in hospital staff in the Netherlands as a measure of the patient safety climate. Haerkens 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• Psychological distress, measured with the Distress and Risk Assessment Method questionnaire (DRAM), was associated with significantly lower patient satisfaction scores in patients having spine surgery in the USA. Abtahi 2015 Go to paper on PubMed
• An RCT found that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy was as effective as antidepressants at preventing relapse of depression in the UK. Kuyken 2015 Go to paper on PubMed
• A Multiple Sclerosis-specific severity score was developed and found to correlate with healthcare costs in the USA. Munsell 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Quality of life on the WHOQOL-BREF was lower in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and their caregivers in China who had higher scores on the Self-Perceived Burden scale and the Zarit Caregiver Burden scale. Geng 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The minimum important difference in Vascular Quality of Life scores (VQ-6) in Swedish adults was found to be between 1.7 and 2.2 scale steps in patients with intermittent claudication and 1.9 in those with critical limb ischaemia. Nordanstig 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A new Weight-specific Adolescent Instrument for Economic evaluation, WAItE, was developed and validated in obese and non-obese adolescents in the UK. Oluboyede 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A Dysmenorrhea Daily Diary was developed and validated against the SF-36 and Menstrual Distress Questionnaire in women with primary dysmenorrhoea; a 3-point change in the 0-10 pelvic pain score is clinically meaningful. Nguyen 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A vitamin D food frequency questionnaire was as accurate as a 14-day diet history and correlated with serum vitamin D levels in Irish adults. Kiely 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• Japan Asthma Control Survey was developed and validated against the Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) and mini Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (Mini AQLQ) in Japanese patients with asthma. Tohda 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found that the most commonly used PRO tools in patients having lumbar spinal surgery were the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), SF-36, Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) and the EQ-5D. Stokes 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found that the Foot Function Index (FFI) was the most commonly-used PRO tool in foot and ankle diseases, and the Manchester-Oxford Foot Questionnaire (MOXFU) had the best properties. Jia 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found that the most commonly-used PRO tools for caregivers of adult cancer patients were the FACT and EORTC instruments, with the COOP/WONCA the most-used generic instrument and the MQOL the most-used end-of-life tool. Roydhouse 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A Chinese version of the Stroke Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (SSEQ) was validated against the General Self-Efficacy Scale, Frenchay Activities Index and Stroke-Specific Quality of Life Scale in Chinese community-dwelling adults after a stroke. Lo 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• Short-form versions of the Neuro-QOL have been validated in adults with multiple sclerosis in the USA. Miller 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• Quality of life, measureed with the EORTC QLQ-C30, EORTC QLQ-BR23 and Female Sexual Function Index, was similar 3 months after different types of surgery for breast cancer in Polish women. Slowik 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The German version of the Intuitive Eating Scale-2 was validated in a community sample and was sensitive to different BMIs, diet history and eating disorders. Ruzanska 2017 Go to paper on PubMed

Costs and resource use studies

• A number of interventions were cost-effective ways of increasing adherence to physical exercise in cancer survivors in the Netherlands, with the most effective being motivatyional programmes for patients and reminder systems for physicians. Mewes 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The estimated direct costs of adverse drug events in 4970 Swedish adults over 3 months ranged from sk10,000 to sk 3 million depending on the methods used. Gyllensten 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Medicare costs are on average $805 higher for each 1 standard deviation increase in polygenic risk score for obesity in elderly US adults. Wehby 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review concluded that social work services are likely to reduce healthcare costs and improve outcomes, but the evidence was very heterogeneous. Steketee 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• After expansion of geographical sharing of heart transplants in the USA, there has been an increase in the number of status 1A patients who were taking inotropes, but the mean dose of dobutamine, dopamine and milrinone decreased; mortality or deterioration in this group in 2011-2015 relative to status 2 candidates was 70% lower than in 2003-06. Parker 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Scheduling bilateral cataract surgery over consecutive days in a single hospital admission was considered cost-effective in India, with 519 patients undergoing surgery on the second eye out of 565 who had initial surgery. Mohan 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Cumulative healthcare costs are greater at 5 years in Swedish adults with type 2 diabetes who start insulin therapy compared with those who initiate non-insulin antidiabetic drugs, €13,823 vs €9989. Kalkan 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Telephone consultations were as effective as face-to-face in children with inflammatory bowel disease in the UK, measured with the paediatric IBD-specific QOL score (IMPACT), and cost an average of £15.71 less per consultation. Akobeng 2015 Go to paper on PubMed
• The annual costs of healthcare for patients with systemic sclerosis in Australia is AU$11,607, largely due to hospitalisation costs from pulmonary hypertension or gastrointestinal problems. Morrisroe 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The costs of dual rapid diagnostic testing for HIV and syphilis in pregnant women in Colombia are greater than single tests, with most of the cost relating to staff costs. Obure 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• 6.28% of hospital admissions in the USA between 2008 and 2011 were likely to be due to adverse drug events; these admissions increased costs by $1851 and length of stay was 1.89 days longer, and odds of mortality were also higher at 1.27 (1.24 to 1.29). Poudel 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Elderly patients with hip fracture who develop delirium postoperatively have on average a length of stay that is 7.4 days longer and CAN$8286 higher hospital costs compared with those wiothout delirium in Canada. Zywiel 2015 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mean costs of schizophrenia in Switzerland were €39,408 per patient in 2012; 64% of this cost is due to productivity losses, 24% direct health costs and 12% caregiver and residential care costs. Pletscher 2015 Go to paper on PubMed
• A fast-track hip and knee arthroplasty pathway incurred fewer costs than a traditional pathway in Danish adults, with a median 2 days' length of stay in each case. Andreassen 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Employee-based incentives to participate in weight loss or exercise programmes reduced healthcare costs by a similar amount in obese US adults. Zivin 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The cost of managing mucomycosis in the UK is less with isavuconazole than with amphotericin B then posaconazole. Bagshaw 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Comprehensive costs of illness in 2008 to 2014 in Japan, including direct and indirect costs, totalled 9815 billion Yen for cancers, 4461 billion Yen for heart disease and 6501 billion Yen for cerebrovascular diseases. Matsumoto 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Hospital length of stay after traumatic brain injury in Canada between 2007 and 2012 was 1 day (56%) longer than expected when compared with all admissions; LOS in intensive care units was 2.5 days (119%) longer than expected. Tardif 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Annual costs of Crohn's disease in France between 2004 and 2006 were €6024 on average; 56% of the costs were due to hospitalisations, 22% were indirect costs and 11% drug costs; infliximab costs accounted for 20% of the total, and were included in hospitalisation costs. Boschetti 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review concluded that the median cost of needlestick injuries in healthcare professionals is Int$747, of which $425 were direct costs, excluding the costs of managing any infedctions, and $322 were indirect costs. Mannocci 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found that there was no strong evidence for interventions that would reduce resource use by frequent attenders in primary care, but that  in-depth analysis by the GP could reduce consultations by 4 to 6 per year, and multi-component therapy and medication could improve SF-36 and CES-D scores. Haroun 2016 Go to paper on PubMed

Economic modelling studies

•  Lumacaftor/ ivacaftor increases survival by 2.91 years in US patients with cystic fibrosis with homozygous phe508del mutation and increases QALYs by 2.42, but at an increased cost of $2,632,249 over a lifetime. Dilokthornsakul 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Empiric antifungal therapy plus Candida PCR testing to identify drug-resistant species is cost-effective in French adults with suspected fungal peritonitis in ICU, with an ICER of €40,055/QALY compared with empiric therapy alone. Pages 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Intensive treatment of type 2 diabetes detected by screening is cost-effective in the UK compared with usual care over at least a 20-year horizon, with an ICER of £71,232/QALY over 10 years, £28,444/QALY over 20 years and £27,549/QALY over 30 years. Laxy 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The most cost-effective basal insulin regimen for type 1 diabetes in the UK was twice daily insulin detemir, with an ICER of £7,844/QALY gained compared with insulin NPH; glargine and once daily detemir were the two next most cost-effective regimens. Dawoud 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• In patients with chronic heart failure and reduced ejection fraction in the Netherlands, sacubitril/ valsartan is cost-effective compared with enalapril, with an ICER of  €17,600/QALY gained. Ramos 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Periarticular liposomal bupivacaine injections are cost=effective compared with femoral nerve blocks after total knee arthroplasty in the USA, with better pain control and reduced length of stay. Kim 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Introducing point-of-care malaria testing at drug shops in Uganda, and offering targeted anti-malarial therapy to those who test positive, is cost-effective compared with empirical treatment only, with a societal ICER of US$3.83 per patient treated appropriately. Hansen 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The savings to US Medicare and Medicaid from optical coherence tomography-directed therapy with anti-VEGF treatment for wet macular degeneration have been estimated at $9.0 billion between 2008 and 2015, a 21-fold return on US government research funding. Windsor 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Low-dose, high-frequency training for healthcare workers in Ghana in obstetric emergencies and newborn care  is very cost-effective compared with no training, with an ICER of $1497.77 per life-year saved and $53.07/DALY averted. Willcox 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Expanding meningococcal vaccination to quadrivalent conjugate vaccine would be cost-effective in 14 out of 26 countries in Africa's meningitis belt if the incidence is 50 per 100,000 per year, with an ICER of US$555 to $787 per DALY averted; it becomes cost-effecgtive in all 26 countries when the incidence rises to 150 cases per 100,000 per year. Kuznik 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A scoping review of economic analyses of pathology tests published between 2010 and 2015 found that most were cost-utility models in infectious disease; quality was very variable and the ICERs were usually either <$10,000/QALY or more than $200,000/QALY, suggesting publication bias. Watts 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A review of economic evaluations for home support interventions in dementia concluded that occupational therapy, home-based exercise and caregiver coping interventions were most likely to be cost-effective. Clarkson 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Elbasvir/grazoprevir was found to be cost-effective compared with ledispavir/sofosbuvir and other antiviral combinations in patients with chronic hepatitis C. Corman 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• School-based cognitive dissonance is not cost-effective as a method of preventing anorexia nervosa or bulimia in adolescent girls in Australia with body image concerns; the ICER was AU$103,980/DALY averted. Le 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Cardiac resynchronisation therapy is cost-effective in mild heart failure, with an ICER of $8,840/QALY in the US; early implementation is also cost-effective compared with later use, with an ICER of $3,795/ LY gained. Gold 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Left ventricular assist devices are not cost-effective in US patients with advanced heart failure, with an ICER of $209,400/QALY gained over medical management and $597,400/LY gained. Baras Shreibati 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Drug-eluting stents are cost-effective compared with bare metal stents in people with ischaemic cardiomyopathy in Mexico, with an ICER of around US$25,000 per major CVD event prevented. Gonzalez-Diaz 2015 Go to paper on PubMed
• Total direct costs of insulin infusions in hospital in England and Wales for patients with diabetes cost between £6.4 million to £8.5 million for the first 24 hours. Rajendran 2015 Go to paper on PubMed
• Vitamin A supplementation approaches are cost-effective for children in Cameroon, ranging from US$2.41 per child effectively covered per year with fortified stock cubes to US$5.30 for each child covered through biofortification of maize. Kagin 2015 Go to paper on PubMed
• In patients with unilateral medial knee osteoarthritis in the USA, high tibial osteotomy is more cost-effective than unicompartmental or total knee arthroplasty, with very similar QALYs and lower costs; ICERs were $231,900/QALY for total knee arthroplasty and $420,100 for unicompartmental arthroplasty. Konopka 2015 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review concluded that superficial venous surgery for varicose veins was cost-effective in the UK, but funding was usually not available; endovascular repair of aortic aneurysms (EVAR) was unlikely to be cost-effective compared with open repair but was recommended by national guidelines. Mandavia 2015 Go to paper on PubMed
• US guidelines in 2015 recommended use of statins for adults with a 10-year risk of CVD of 7.5% or higher, with an ICER of $37,000/QALY; lowering the threshold to 5% risk would have a 93% likelihood of being cost-effective at a willingness-to-pay threshold of $100,000/QALY. Pandya 2015 Go to paper on PubMed
• School-based dental sealant programs are cost-effective in the USA, with a mean annual economic benefit over 4 years of $11.73 per tooth sealed. Griffin 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• A model found that NSAIDs were cost-effective compared with opioids for chronic back pain in the USA, with lower costs and higher QALYs. Shah 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• Providing financial incentives to encourage uptake of hepatitis B vaccination in IV drug users is cost-effective in the UK with a mean increased cost of £21.86 per person; the ICER is £6738/QALY. Rafia 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• Screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms plus medical preventive therapy with statins, antiplatelets and antihypertensives is cost-effective in Sweden, with an ICER of €13,922/QALY compared with no screening. Zarrouk 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• Lisdexamphetamine is cost-effective compared with atomoxetine in children with ADHD who did not respond adequately to methylphenidate in the UK, with an ICER of £1802/QALY. Zimovetz 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• A pragmatic exercise intervention improved quality of life in women with breast cancer in Australia compared with usual care, measured with the FACT-B+4 and the EQ-5D, with an ICER of A$2282 to A$2644 per improver and A$90,842 to A$105,231 per QALY. Gordon 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Screening for hepatocellular cancer in native Alaskan adults with AFP tests followed up by ultrasound scans alone would cost $13,000 per life-year gained, compared with $21,000 for screening everyone with ultrasound initially, but would detect fewer cases. Gounder 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• A state-wide fall prevention programme in the USA reduced falls in senior center attendees by 18%, with significantly fewer hospitalisations and mean cost savings of $840 per person compared with usual care. Albert 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• Uptake of seasonal influenza vaccine in China 2004 - 2014 was 1.5% to 2.2%; a free national vaccination program covering priority populations would cost US$757 million per year, with an uptake rate of 20%. Yang 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• It is likely that making statins available over-the-counter in the USA would be cost-effective, with an ICER of $5667/QALY compared with usual care. Stomberg 2016 Go to paper on PubMed

Mortality studies

• Case fatality rates were 70.9% in Chinese children admitted to hospital with severe hand-foot-mouth disease in 2009 to 2016; risks were higher in girls than boys. Zheng 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mortality in adults in ITU in Greece is 41.63%; a model was able to predict mortality accurately. Fika 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mortality among US adults with VA primary health care provision was 10% higher in those living in the lowest socioeconomic status neighbourhoods than those living in the highest SES areas, but confounding factors in the SES categories were not well adjusted for. Mortality was double in those living in the lowest decile for household income compared with those in the highest income households. Nelson 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Self-reported health status predicted cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in US adults aged 40 to 79 years after adjusting for demographic and health factors. Barger 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• Neonatal morbidity rates were 7% in North-East China in 2005 and mortality rates were 9.5 per 1000 births; premature delivery was the main risk factor for neonatal death. Sun 2014 Go to paper on PubMed
• Deaths associated with exposure to particulate matter less than 2.5 microns have been estimated at between 1609 and 2253 in 2015 in Israel; total costs were between $544 million and $1749 million that year, the equivalent to 0.18% to 0.59% of GDP. Ginsberg 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• 6.8% of patients having endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm in the Netherlands reported a positive family history for the disease; this subgroup had a higher 30-day mortality after EVAR (4.7% vs 1.0%), but no significant difference in all-cause mortality (19.8% vs 24.3%). van de Luijtgaarden 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• An international database of patients with vulval cancer found that 2.4% had vulval melanoma; of these, mean overall survival was 45.9 months, and 5-year overall survival rate was 78.6%. Iacoponi 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• Implementation of a prescription drug monitoring programme in the USA reduced opioid-related deaths by 1.12/100,000 population in the year after implementation. Patrick 2016 Go to paper on PubMed
• Overall survival in adults with metastatic renal cell carcinoma in Russia was 49.4% at 1 year, 18.9% at 3 years and 8.2% at 5 years, with a median OS from the start of treatment of 12 months. Tsimafeyeu 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• In-hospital mortality after acute myocardial infarction in Iran was higher in women than men, but the difference was not significant after adjusting for baseline risk factors. Ghaffari 2017 Go to paper on PUbMed