Published: 01-05-2019

The heoro.com database is updated every day with new studies relevant to health economics and outcomes research added to the PubMed database. 

In this blog, we summarise some of these new additions as they are added to our database.

Studies reporting utilities

• The SF-36v2 was validated in the general population of Thailand; chronic diseases were associated with lower values after multiple regression. Kangwanrattanakul  2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Adding a module on activities related to bending knees improved the validity and reliability of the EQ-5D-5L in adults in Thailand. Kangwanrattanakul 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mean EQ-5D utility losses were between 0.086 and 0.132 in patients with asthma who had a crisis event requiring A&E attendance or hospital admission in the UK. Crossman-Barnes 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Subjective well-being measures were correlated with EQ-5D, HUI3, SF-6D and AQoL-8D utility values in patients with heart diseases in Australia. Gao 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found that the mean SF-36 physical dimension score was 53.5 and mental dimension score was 54.5 in Iranian patients with type 2 diabetes. Mokhtari 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The EQ-5D-3L correlated well with the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Head and Neck (FACT-H&N)  in Japanese patients after surgery for oral cancer. Aoki 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• SF-36 values and disability were similar after 12 months in patients with unruptured brain arteriovenous malformations treated surgically versus conservatively in Scotland and Australia. O'Donnell 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• EQ-5D and SF-36 utility values were similar over 2 years after acute diverticulitis managed with antibiotics or observation, up to 38% had persistent symptoms. van Dijk 2019 Go to paper on PubMed 
• Nausea and vomiting of pregnancy significantly reduces SF-12 PCS but not MCS scores; 45% of affected women needed time off work. Tan 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mean EQ-5D-5L index score was 0.83 and SF-6D was 0.75 in older adults with arthritis in Canada compared with 0.88 and 0.81 in those without arthritis; neither tool discriminated well for chronic pain. Tawiah 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Assessment of Quality of Life-8-Dimension Scale (AQoL-8D) and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Melanoma (FACT-M) utilities were mapped to Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory scores in Australian adults with early melanoma. Dieng 2018 Go to paper on PubMed

Studies validating a PRO instrument

• The Objective Breast Cosmesis Scale (OBCS) was validated in women who had breast-conserving surgery plus radiotherapy for breast cancer in Italy and France. Lancellotta 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• The  performance of the General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) was assessed in patients with stroke in Norway. Hjelle 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Warwick-Edinburgh mental well-being scale was validated against the World Health Organization Well-Being Index in adults in China with chronic heart failure. Dong 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The quality of life in short statured youth (QoLISSY) questionnaire was validated against the KIDSCREEN-10 in children in Germany with short stature undergoing growth hormone treatment. Bloemeke 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Patient-reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) computer adaptive tests (CATs)  was validated against the Oswestry Disability Index, and Short Form-12 in patients undergoing lumbar microdiskectomy for symptomatic disk herniation and radiculopathy in the USA. Bhall 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review concluded that the SF-36 PCS is the only fully validated PRO measure for use in gout. Janssen 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit four-level Self-Completion questionnaire (ASCOT-SCT4) was validated as a measure of social-care related quality of life in Japanese adults. Nakamura-Thomas 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Modified Myeloproliferative Neoplasm Symptom Assessment Diary (MPN-SD) was found to be a comprehensive way of assessing symptoms in myelofibrosis in the UK and USA. Mesa 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The King's Sarcoidosis Questionnaire (KSQ) was modified and validated against the SF-36 in patients with sarcoidosis in Germany. Farin 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Patient Experiences and Satisfaction with Medications Questionnaire (PESaM)  was validated in patients taking pirfenidone or nintedanib for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, eculizumab for atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome or tacrolimus after kidney transplant in the Netherlands. Kimman 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Global Assessment of Migraine Severity (GAMS) was validated against the Migraine Disability Scale (MIDAS), PHQ-9 and HADS in adults with migraine in North America. Sajobi 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Supportive Care Needs Survey for partners and caregivers was validated against the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the CareGiver Oncology Quality of Life questionnaire (CarGOQoL) in French caregivers of patients with cancer. Baudry 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Minimally important differences in Bladder Cancer Index scores were determined against the SF-36 in US patients undergoing radical cystectomy for bladder cancer. Peyton 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The CASP-19 was validated in elderly people in Lithuania as a measure of quality of life in old age. Cernovas 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• An up to 8 point increase in Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) scores was associated with a significant decrease in all-cause mortality and hospitalisation in US adults with heart failure undergoing exercise therapy. Luo 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The English, Malay and Chinese versions of the WHOQOL-BREF were equivalent for physical and environmental domains but inconclusive for psychological and social domains. Cheung 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The WatLX was validated against a Likert scale as a measure of patient experience with rehabilitative care in Canada. McMurray 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• The FSIQ-RMS was validated as a measure of fatigue symptoms and impacts in relapsing multiple sclerosis in the USA. Hudgens 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The QUALI-PALLI-Patient tool was validated against the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory and the Palliative Performance Scale in patients receiving palliative care in France. Guirimand 2019 Go to paper on PubMed

Other PRO studies

• Quality of life on the BREAST-Q was significantly higher in US women receiving muscle-preserving free abdominal versus pedicle transverse rectus abdominis musculocutaneous (TRAM) flap for breast reconstruction after breast cancer surgery. Atisha 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Quality of life, measured on the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System 29-item profile, was worse in US adults with thyroid cancer than population norms; pain and physical functioning were better but other domains worse with thyroid cancer than in non-Hodgkin lymphoma, breast, colorectal, uterine, and prostate cancer. Goswami 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Quality of life on the Foot Health Status Questionnaire [FHSQ] was lower in patients with type 2 diabetes than those with type 1 diabetes in Spain. Palomo-Lopez 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mean TRANQoL score of transfusion-dependent QoL was 48.33 in children with beta-thalassaemia major in Pakistan. Yasmeen 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found that the most widely-used PRO instruments for inflammatory bowel disease were the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire, the SF-36 in adults, and the PedsQL in children. Knowles 2018 Go to paper on PubMed

Studies reporting costs and resource use

• One-year healthcare costs were significantly higher in US Medicare patients readmitted within 30 days of a medical admission than those not readmitted, $56,856 vs $35,465. Zheng 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found that costs of antibiotic-loaded bone cement are higher than plain cement without reducing joint infections after knee arthroplasty. King 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mean supply costs of open gastrectomy in Canada were $821 compared with $2678 for laparoscopic gastrectomy; surgeons were inaccurate in estimating these costs. Abraham 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Average weekly costs were higher in patients receiving optimal treatment for venous leg ulcers in Australia than with usual care but EQ-5D values were higher and time to healing was lower. Barnsbee 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mean healthcare cost of head and neck cancer in Italy in 2007 to 2010 was €20,184 from diagnosis to 2 years after treatment initiation. Polesel 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Caregivers of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer in France, Germany and Italy provided a mean 29.5 hours of support per week, with work impairment of 21 to 30% and impaired EQ-5D values. Wood 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The mean annual direct costs of severe irritable bowel syndrome with constipation were €937 to €2108 per patient in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK; when lost productivity costs were included, total costs were €1421 to €2487 per patient. Tack 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Median indirect costs of lost productivity plus expenses of parents with hospitalised children in the USA were $113 in total, $51 per day, equating to 45% of daily household income. Chang 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mean direct costs of chronic spontaneous urticaria in France were €2,397 per patient per year, indirect costs were €421/patient per 4 weeks for presenteeism and €420 for loss of productivity. Lacour 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Most sickness absence in the UK, France and Finland was due to musculoskeletal disorders (70.9 days/10 person-years), depression (26.5 days/10PY) and external causes eg injury (12.8 days/10PY); obesity, smoking, binge drinking and lack of exercise were associated with increased sickness absence. Virtanen 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found that indirect costs of schizophrenia in Europe ranged from €119 to €62,034 annually and accounted for 44% of total costs on average. Fasseeh 2018 Go to paper on PubMed

Economic evaluations

• Adding revascularisation to best medical therapy may not be cost-effective for intermittent claudication in Sweden, with an ICER of €42,881/QALY gained. Djerf 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Liver transplantation for colorectal metastases confined to the liver may be cost-effective in selected patients compared with chemotherapy alone, with an ICER of €54,467/life-year gained, €67,509/QALY. Bjornelv 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Routine genetic screening for maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) is cost-effective in Australian children with diabetes, increasing QALYs and reducing costs compared with standard screening. Johnson 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Adding Yttrium-90 radioembolisation to chemotherapy is cost-effective in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in the USA, with an ICER of $50,059/life-year gained. Ghodadra 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Global pneumococcal vaccination of children under 5 years old would cost $16 billion a year but would save $3.19bn healthcare and $2.64bn societal costs and is probably cost-effective in all 6 UN regions. Chen 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mean total costs and QALYs were similar in patients with bipolar disorder treated with lamotrigine or placebo in the UK, but clinical ratings were better with lamotrigine. Simon 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• H. pylori screening and eradication is cost-effective in employees in Japan compared with no screening, with greater benefits from reduced stomach cancer and lower costs. Kowada 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found that surgical treatment of ACL injury was cost-effective but the cost-effectiveness of other treatments for non-osteoarthritic knee pain is still unclear. Afzali 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Nifedipine may be more cost-effective than atosiban in threatened premature labour in the Netherlands and Belgium, but is associated with a non-significant increase in mortality. Nijman 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Abuse deterrent formulations of opioids for non-cancer chronic pain can prevent 2300 new cases of opioid abuse in the USA over 5 years at a cost of $535 million; 40% decrease in ADF costs required for cost neutrality.  Kumar 2019 Go to paper on PubMed

Studies reporting mortality

• Deaths from liver disease in the UK increased from 7811 in 2001 to 11,017 in 2014; 41.2% were due to alcohol, 66.9% died in hospital. Peng 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Hypertension and diabetes were independent risk factors for anti-longevity in Portuguese elderly and centenarians. Pereira da Silva 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Lower scores on the Palliative Performance Scale were associated with decreased median survival in patients admitted to hospices for palliative care for heart failure in the USA. Masterson 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Heart failure in Portugal in 2014 accounted for 4.7% of all deaths and 21,162 DALYs, with 9765 years of life lost. Gouveia 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A meta-analysis found improved overall survival and quality of life with abiraterone plus prednisolone versus docetaxel in metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer. Feyerabend 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• 30-day mortality after surgery in children in the USA in 2012-2015 was 0.7%; mortality was highest with necrotising enterocolitis, 19%. Bonasso 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Having >6 hours as sedentary leisure time each day was associated with a 2.4 year shorter survival time compared with Go to paper on PubMed