Published: 02-12-2019

We update the heoro.com database every night by running a systematic search of PubMed for studies on health economics and outcomes research. In this blog, we summarise some of the key studies that have been added during the month of December 2019. 

Studies reporting utilities

• EQ-5D and Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHF) scores were similar in patients followed up after pacemaker fitting by telemedicine compared with those attending standard outpatient clinics; emergency visits and rehospitalisation rates were also similar. Lopez-Liria 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• SF-36 scores were significantly worse in European adults with atopic dermatitis than controls, with higher anxiety, depression, work impairment and healthcare resource use. Eckert 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• SF-36 domain scores ranged from 49.31 for role physical to 66.46 for physical functioning after surgery for vestibular schwannoma in Germany; SF-36 scores correlated with Penn Acoustic Neuroma Quality-of-Life scale PANQOL scores. Kristin 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mean EQ-5D-5L index value was 0.95 and EQ-VAS was 83.6 in adults in Trinidad and Tobago. Baziley 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review on the impact of haemorrhage in people taking antithrombotic agents found a mean worsening of EQ-5D values of 0.09, SF-36 scores of 21.4 and GHP MOS-13 scores of 11.9 compared with no bleeding. Res 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mean EQ-5D index score was 0.74 and EQ-VAS was 65.67 in patients with SLE in Spain; mean costs were €8433 per patient in 2014. Roman Ivorra 2019 Go to paper on PubMed

Studies validating a PRO instrument

• The Spanish Treatment Burden Questionnaire (TBQ) was validated in patients with multiple sclerosis in Argentina. Ysrraelit 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Nontransfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia PRO tool (NTDT-PRO) was validated against the SF-36 and FACT-Anemia in patients with beta-thalassaemia in Italy, Lebanon, Greece, and Thailand. Taher 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Multidimensional presenteeism exposures and productivity survey for nurses (MPEPS-N) was validated as a measure of presenteeism in nurses in China. Lui 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) was validated against the SF-36 in adults with heart failure in Indonesia. Kusuma 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Patient-Reported Outcomes in Obesity (PROS) was validated against the Impact of Weight Quality of Life questionnaire (IWQOL-Lite) in people undergoing bariatric surgery for obesity. Aasprang 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The EORTC Questionnaire for Head and Neck Cancer (EORTC QLQ-H&N35), the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy General and Head and Neck (FACT-H&N), the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory Head and Neck questionnaire (MDASI-HN),and the Patient-Reported Outcomes Version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE) assess different symptoms in patients undergoing radiotherapy for head and neck cancer and none completely cover patient experiences. Hollander-Mieritz 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) pediatric measures were validated as measures of changes over time in children with cancer in the USA. Hinds 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• In patients with schizophrenia in Singapore, PANSS symptom severity predicted Health Utility Index Mark 3 (HUI3) and Schizophrenia Quality of Life Scale (SQLS) scores, but psychiatric comorbidity predicted only HUI3 scores. Seow 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• 14% of women report lymphoedema after treatment for uterine, cervical or vulval cancer in the USA; increase in the Gynecologic Cancer Lymphedema Questionnaire (GCLQ) scores was predictive of lymphoedema. Carter 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire was better than the Minnesota Living With Heart Failure Questionnaire in predicting death, transplantation and left ventricular assist device use in people with heart failure in the USA. Yee 2019 Go to paper on PubMed

Other PRO studies

• PHQ-9 scores were improved by a 17-week psychosocial intervention compared with usual care in older adults with depression in Brazil. Scazufca 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Psychological distress, measured on the Kessler 10-item questionnaire, affected 52.5% of adults in rural Bangladesh, 9% severe; distress was independently predicted by being older, widowed, and with no education; socioeconomic status showed a U-shaped curve. Islam 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• WHODAS 2.0 scores showed mild to moderate disability for mobility, life activities and participation in society domains in patients with pulmonary hypertension in Portugal; scores for cognition, self care and interpersonal relationships were lower. Reis 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Community-based rehabilitation significantly increased quality of life in adults with schizophrenia in Indonesia compared with controls. Puspitosari 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Schizophrenia Quality of Life Questionnaire (SQoL18) scores were higher in outpatients with stable schizophrenia in Peru and lower in Bolivia compared with those in Chile. Caqueo-Urizar 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A comprehensive education and care program reduced HADS anxiety and depression scores, improved EORTC QLQ-C30 scores and increased survival at 12 months compared with controls in patients undergoing resection of hepatocellular carcinoma in China. Wang 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Severe retinopathy in type 1 diabetes was associated with worse National Eye Institute 25-item visual functioning questionnaire scores, higher HbA1c levels and greater fatalism on the locus of control scale. Trento 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found the most commonly-used PRO tools in adults with hand disorders are the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH), used in 41% of studies, the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire ( 23%) and the SF-36 (4%). Lloyd-Hughes 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Erenumab improved Migraine-Specific Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (MSQ), Headache Impact Test-6 (HIT-6), Migraine Disability Assessment (MIDAS) and PROMIS Pain scores compared with placebo in chronic migraine. Lipton 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Quality of life on the WHOQOL-BREF improved significantly and for at least 6 months after a mind-body program in patients with deafness or significant hearing loss due to neurofibromatosis 2 in the USA. Funes 2019 Go to paper on PubMed

Studies reporting costs and resource use

• A systematic review found that hospitalisation rates in people with dementia were between 0.37 and 1.26/person-year, a relative risk for hospitalisation of 1.42 (95%CI 1.21 to 1.66) compared with people without dementia matched for age, sex and physical comorbidity. Shepherd 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mean indirect out-of-pocket costs for caregivers of elderly patients in intensive care in Canada was $791 in the first month, $162/day. Boyes 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The lifetime risk of hospitalisation for diverticular disease from age 30 years is 3.1% in men, 5% in women in Sweden, risks of intestinal resection or stoma formation are 0.5% in men and 0.8% in women. Skoldberg 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Length of stay and costs of robotic pancreatectomy were lower than open or laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy in patients in the USA in 2010- 2016. Magge 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found contradictory evidence on whether exercise and physiotherapy is cost-effective in patients with breast cancer. Khan 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Inappropriate prescribing of opioids in the USA in 2011-2015 increased with age, from 2% of patients aged 18 to 29 years to 14% of those aged 50 years and older. Rose 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Patients who had total hip arthroplasty after femoral neck fracture had CAD $2,700 lower healthcare costs and lower revision rates than those who had hemiarthroplasty in Canada 2004-2014. Ravi 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Antihypertensives were the most commonly prescribed drug class in patients with chronic kidney disease attending a tertiary care hospital in India (85%), followed by multivitamins (65%), proton pump inhibitors (65%) and antidiabetic drugs (32%). Mamadi 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• In 2016-17, 14% of US patients with HIV used a cost-saving strategy for filling prescriptions for any medication, 7% had cost-related nonadherence and were more likely to have visited an ER, be hospitalised and not have viral suppression. Beer 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Total annual healthcare costs in adults with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation in Italy in 2011 to 2015 were €5153 for those taking vitamin K antagonists compared with €4631 for those taking NOACs. Degli Esposti 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Children with bronchiectasis in Australia and New Zealand had a mean 3.3 exacerbations per year, 11.4% required hospitalisation; school/childcare absences occurred in 24.9/100 child-months. Lovie-Toon 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Direct healthcare costs of hepatitis A, malaria and enteric fever in Ontario, Canada in 2012 to 2014 were $2,058,196, a mean cost per case of $6098, with highest costs for enteric fever. Savage 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mean healthcare costs of medical treatment for low back pain in Serbia were €200.40 per patient per year, indirect costs were €182. Radoicic 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found that the number of hospitalisations and outpatient consultations for congenital heart disease in adults has increased over the last few decades internationally, but hospitalisation rate per 100 patients has fallen. Willems 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found the mean costs of food allergy were $2081 direct costs, $1874 out-of-pocket and $1038 opportunity costs per individual, with mean household-level costs of $3339 out-of-pocket and $4881 opportunity costs. Bilaver 2019 Go to paper on PubMed

Economic evaluations

• In 61 endemic countries/locations, a melioidosis vaccine could avert 68,000 lost QALYs, 8300 cases and 4400 deaths per vaccinated age cohort, at an incremental cost of USD59.6 million.  Luangasanatip 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Assessing baseline left ventricular function with equilibrium radionucline angiography (ERNA) is cost-effective in women about to start anthracycline and/or trastuzumab therapy for breast cancer in the USA, with an ICER of $45,473/QALY gained. Abu-Khalaf 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Narrow-band imaging-guided biopsy for surveillance of Barrett's oesophagus is cost-saving over 7 years in the UK compared with random biopsies, with similar accuracy, fewer biopsies and reduced adverse events. Furneri 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy has similar costs and quality of life and is likely to be as cost-effective as open pancreatectomy in the Netherlands. van Hilst 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Survival after resection for hepatocellular carcinoma in the USA was 652 days at a cost of $2904/day, patients receiving liver transplant survived 1579 days at a cost of $2889/day; cost-effectiveness was directly related to length of survival. Skill 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Edoxaban is cost-effective compared with acenocoumarol to prevent stroke and systemic embolism in non-valvular atrial fibrillation in Spain, with an ICER of €11,518/QALY. Lekuona 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Sleeve gastrectomy was the most cost-effective type of bariatric surgery in adults with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis with cirrhosis, with an ICER of $6563/QALY in severe obesity, to $66119/QALY in overweight compared with usual care. Klebanoff 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Axicabtagene Ciloleucel is not cost-effective compared with chemotherapy in B-cell lymphoma in the US at 2 years with an ICER of $896,600 for public payers, but may be more cost-effective if it increases long-term survival. Whittongton 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Memory assessment services may be cost-effective in the UK if patients' quality of life would have deteriorated without referral, with an ICER of £25,056/QALY; £89,546/QALY without this assumption. Gomes 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Screening blood donations for Zika virus is never cost-effective in the USA but is cost-effective during the high mosquito season in Puerto Rico, with an ICER of $81,123/QALY. Russell 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• An etanercept biosimilar Anbainuo is cost-effective in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in China compared with standard DMARDs, with an ICER of 104,293 Yuan/QALY. Tian 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A community-based public health intervention to reduce cardiovascular disease is cost-effective in the USA, reducing costs by $3476 and increasing QALYs by 0.16 for a typical 52-year old man. Smith 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Vonoprazan is cost-effective compared with lansoprazole for initial treatment of gastroesophageal reflux in Japan. Habu 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• An analysis of drugs launched since 1981 for 66 diseases concluded that their introduction was cost-effective, with pharmaceutical expenditure of $2837 per life-year saved below the age of 85 years. Lichtenberg 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Durvalumab is cost-effective as consolidation in stage III non-small-cell lung cancer in the USA, with an ICER of $67,421/QALY compared with no consolidation. Criss 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Erenumab is unlikely to be cost-effective for chronic migraine in Greece compared with onabotulinumtoxin A, with an ICER of €231,554/QALY at current drug costs. Giannouchos 2019 Go to paper on PubMed

Studies reporting mortality rates and trends

• A systematic review found the mortality rate from cellulitis was 1.1% (95%CI 0.7 to 1.8) worldwide, and 0.5% (95% CI 0.3 to 0.9) in the USA. Gunderson 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• 21.7% of patients with troponin measurements in UK hospitals died after a median 1198 days; those with a raised value had HR for death of 3.2 over 3 years; HR =10.6 in adults 18-29 yr, HR =1.5 in those aged >90 yr. Kaura 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Five-year age-standardised relative survival in women with cervical cancer in Sweden was 70% in 2011-2015, 95% relative survival after surgery for stage 1BI disease to 7% for stage IVB disease. Bjurberg 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• In Burkino Faso, 21% of infants were low birthweight; 1-year mortality was 7.8% overall, 44% of deaths were in low birthweight infants. Mwangome 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• 6-month survival after surgery or radiotherapy was 77% in patients with one spinal metastasis compared with 65% in those with multiple spinal metastases; EQ-5D and SF-36 scores were similar. Barzilai 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mortality in squamous cell carcinoma of the mouth in Brazil in 2000-2014 was higher in smokers than non-smokers, and associated with lower educational level and alcoholism. Colares 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found that in-hospital mortality for sepsis in sub-Saharan Africa was 19%, and 39% for severe sepsis; HIV and tuberculosis infections predominate. Lewis 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found that in-hospital mortality from septic shock in Europe and North America was 39% and 28-30-day mortality was 36.7%. Vincent 2019 Go to paper on PubMed