Published: 31-12-2019

We update the heoro.com database every day with new studies relevant to health economics and outcomes research. In this blog we summarise some of the key studies added throughout January 2020.

Studies reporting utility values

• A systematic review found that mean SF-36 scores in elderly Iranian adults were 47.58, 51.75, 55.42, 55.78, 59.55, 51.54, 47.85 and 51.31 for physical-role, physical function, mental health, bodily pain, social functioning, emotional-role, general health, and vitality, respectively. Doosti-Irani 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• There was low concordance between instrument-based and vignette-based assessment of utility values for the same health states in kidney diseases. Briggs 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mean EQ-VAS scores in the US general population were 84.4 in 2002 and 84.6 in 2017; scores were significantly higher in 2017 after adjusting for dimension-specific health problems. Cha 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mean EQ-5D utility values were 0.544 in adults in Spain with knee osteoarthritis and 0.520 in those with hip osteoarthritis. Garcia-Perez 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found that the mean EQ-5D utility score was 0.69 in people with multiple sclerosis in Central and Eastern Europe, with a range of 0.49 in Austria to 0.80 in Poland; mean EQ-VAS score was 59.1. Prevolnik 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mean EQ-5D values were 0.752 in people with no clinically-important deterioration in COPD in the UK compared with 0.697 in those with deterioration, p<0.001, with significantly lower healthcare costs per year. Paly 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A community-based multi-strategy intervention to prevent obesity in Australian 9 to 11 year-old children did not significantly improve Child Health Utility 9D scores or BMI compared with controls after 2-3 years. Bell 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Time trade-off utility values from the UK general population were 0.55 for pre-treatment AML, 0.66 for AML in temporary remission; disutilities were determined for different induction and consolidation regimens. Matza 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• EQ-5D values were independently predicted by employment status, severe comorbidities, being overweight and worries about disease progression in adults with chronic hepatitis C in France. Cossais 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Relaxation training improved SF-36 scores and reduced anxiety levels on the STAI in adults with asthma in Iran. Pourdowlat 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• SF-36 values significantly improved with ulipristal acetate in premenopausal women with heavy menstrual bleeding due to leiomyomas over 12 months in Italy. Neri 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found no conclusive improvement in SF-12 or SF-36 values after manual therapy for tension headache, migraine or cervicogenic headache; Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) and Headache Disability Inventory (HDI) scores improved significantly compared with control. Falsiroli Maistrello 2019 Go to paper on PubMed

Studies validating a PRO instrument

•  Pediatric Eye Questionnaires (PedEyeQ) were developed for children aged 5 to 11 years, 12 to 17 years and caregivers of children aged 0 to 4 years with any eye disease in the USA. Hatt 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The PROMIS Pain Interference (PI) correlated better with PROMIS Physical Function (PF) scores than did the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) in patients undergoing surgery for foot and ankle disorders in the USA. Bernstein 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The most appropriate minimum clinically important differences (MCID) in women with stress urinary incontinence were 4 for the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence Short Form (ICIQ-UI SF) and 6 for the ICIQ-Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Quality of Life (ICIQ-LUTSqol). Lim 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Child Amblyopia Treatment Questionnaire (CAT-QoL) and Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) were both valid and reliable in children with amblyopia in the UK, but the PedsQL did not differentiate different severities of amblyopia. Carlton 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A refined 8-item version of the Child Amblyopia Treatment Questionnaire (CAT-QoL) was developed to assess the impact of treatment on quality of life in children with amblyopia. Carlton 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Reference values for the Japanese Orthopaedic Association Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire (JOABPEQ) were developed for patients with lumbar spinal stenosis in Japan. Kobayashi 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The minimal important change in the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) Subjective Knee Form was 10.9 in adults aged 45 to 70 years with menisceal tears in the Netherlands. Noorduyn 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Generic-6 was validated against the SF-12 as a measure of functioning and predictor of length of stay among hospital attendees in China. Liu 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Hebrew version of the Western Ontario Shoulder Instability index (WOSI) was validated against the Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) questionnaire after surgery for shoulder instability in Israel. Gottlieb 2019 Go to paper on PubMed

Other PRO studies

•  Leicester Cough Questionnaire (LCQ) and Cough and Sputum Assessment Questionnaire (CASA-Q) scores were impaired in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in Japan but improved with treatment. Suzuki 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Skindex-17 symptom scores were higher in adults in Italy with non-melanoma skin cancer but mental health scores on the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) were worse in people with malignant melanoma. Sampogna 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Quality of life was impaired in Brazilian children with poor school performance, especially in those with altered pro-social behaviour and parents unconcerned about the child's written language development. Rezende 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A balanced diet improved quality of life and pain after 4 weeks and was preferred by patients with irritable bowel syndrome in Italy compared with a gluten-free diet or low-FODMAP diet. Paduano 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Male survivors of adult haematological malignancy report better physical functioning and lower symptom scores on the EQ-5D and EORTC QLQ-C30 than women in the UK. Immanuel 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Skindex-17 quality of life scores were worse in patients in Italy with hidradenitis suppurtiva than other skin diseases including psoriasis. Sampogna 2019 Go to paper on PubMed 
• A systematic review found that quality of life on the EORTC QLQ-C30, FACT-VCI and BCI was similar with different methods of urinary diversion after radical cystectomy. Pazeto 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• People with chronic disease in India who practised yoga had better Warwick-Edinburgh mental wellbeing scale (WEMWBS), WHOQOL-BREF scores and higher personal control scores than those who were yoga-naive. Telles 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• EORTC QLQ-C30 scores tended to improve with brigatinib therapy for non-small-cell lung cancer. Lenderking 2019 Go to paper on PubMed

Cost and resource use studies

• Elective fast-track endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair led to lower resource use and reduced complications than standard EVAR in the USA, with total costs of $26,730 for fast-track EVAR compared with $30,700 for standard EVAR. Krajcer 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Costs of hospitalisation for stroke in China in 2006-2013 were CNY 17,730 for ischaemic stroke, CNY 62,494 for subarachnoid haemorrhage, CNY 38,758 for intracerebral haemorrhage, CNY 10,365 for transient ischaemic attack and CNY 18,921 for other strokes. Zhang 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Final infarct volume was the strongest predictor of acute healthcare costs of anterior large-vessel ischaemic stroke in the USA, which accounted for 20% of the total variance in costs.  Streib 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• 29,509 patients had a first hospital admission for irritable bowel syndrome in France in 2015, 0.07% of the population; investigation rates did not substantially decrease following the admission. Sabate 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found that indirect costs of rheumatoid arthritis due to productivity losses may represent over 50% of total costs. Batko 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Genetic screening for mycoses increased false positives but did not increase true positive diagnoses and cost $32,500 compared with $8,592 for traditional tests in the USA. Stempak 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found sparse evidence on the costs of fluoroquinolone-related adverse events, but estimated that the cost of each episode was €140 to €18,252 at 2016 costs. Kuula 2019 Go to paper on PubMed 
• A systematic review found that the proportion of patients requiring repeat colonoscopy due to inadequate bowel cleansing ranged from 24% in the UK to 63% in Spain; improving cleansing should be cost-saving. Murphy 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Hospitalisation rate, length of stay and all-cause mortality has increased between 2007 and 2014 in people with Heyde's syndrome angiodysplasia-associated gastrointestinal bleeding undergoing aortic valve replacement in the USA. Desai 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Critical care complications occurred in 11% of patients undergoing hepatectomy in the USA in 2012-2016, with 6% of patients developing sepsis and 5% respiratory failure; odds ratio for mortality was 26.75 and length of stay 10.5 days longer compared with no complications. Chacon 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A catch-up home visit for screening at weekends increased the proportion of people in Lesotho knowing their HIV status from 62% to 71% but cost twice as much per person tested, three-times as much per positive test as those tested mid-week. Labhardt 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• One year after surgery for breast cancer in Germany, 57% of survivors worked the same and 22% worked fewer hours than before the diagnosis; not returning to work was associated with worse quality of life, fatigue and cognitive problems. Schmidt 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• The indirect costs of traumatic brachial plexus injuries in the USA were estimated at $1,113,962 per patient over the post-injury lifetime, and median indirect costs were $801,723. Hong 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Costs of neurosurgery were 9% higher in high-volume than low-volume centres in the US in 2002-2014, but were 4.3% less expensive after adjusting for patient, hospital and case-mix differences. Yoon 2019 Go to paper on PubMed 
• Mean cost of lung cancer in Mexico in 2017 was US$16,537 per patient, annual cost of disability pensions in 2017 was 97.2 million pesos. Rascon-Pacheco 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Readmissions for skin disorders in the USA were 9.8% overall and were highest for mycosis fungoides (32% 30-day all-cause) vascular hamartomas (21% 30-day disease-specific) dermatomyositis (18% 30-day disease-specific) and SLE (24% calendar year disease-specific readmissions). Zhang 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Children living in households with food insecurity in the USA were significantly more likely to attend the ED or primary care, had higher school absenteeism and lower access to care, but similar healthcare costs compared with those without food insecurity. Peltz 2019 Go to paper on PubMed

Economic evaluations

• Mean net benefits of Recovery High Schools were $16,100 to $51,900 per adolescent with substance use disorder, with a benefit-cost ratio of 3.0 to 7.2 compared with usual schooling in the USA. Weimer 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A meta-analysis found that the most effective non-benzodiazepine drug for status epilepticus was phenobarbital followed by valproate, levetiracetam and phenytoin/fosphenytoin; the most cost-effective was levetiracetam with an ICER of $18.55/seizure stopped, followed by valproate and phenobarbital. Sanchez-Fernandez 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• For second-line therapy of non-small-cell lung cancer in Canada, docetaxel is most cost-effective; atezolizumab has an ICER of $142,074/QALY compared with docetaxel but dominates nivolumab. Ondhia 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found limited evidence that nurse-led interventions are cost-effective for common minor health problems but not for chronic fatigue syndrome and pharmacist-led services for chronic pain and coronary heart disease are not cost-effective compared with GPs. Anthony 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Dengue vaccination after screening for prior exposure may be cost-effective only in high endemic areas with relatively high GDP such as Brazil, Paznama, Mexico and Thailand. Espana 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found most cost-effectiveness analyses of treatments for glioma did not assess utility values for relevant health states but were based on life-years gained. Butenschoen 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Extended venous thromboembolism prophylaxis is only cost-effective after surgery for Crohn's disease where the risk of VTE is >4.9% in the USA; cost of preventing one death = $43 million overall, $1.9million/QALY. Leeds 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A low-protein formula would be cost-effective at preventing childhood obesity compared with usual formula in bottle-fed infants in Germany, with a positive net monetary benefit and cost-savings of €2.5 billion. Sonntag 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Adding utidelone to capecitabine is not cost-effective at list price for metastatic breast cancer in China, with an ICER of $68,181/QALY, at a willingness to pay threshold of $24,380/QALY. Liao 2019 Go to paper on PubMed 
• A systematic review concluded that most high-quality economic evaluations found that erlotinib was cost-effective as first-line therapy for non-small-cell lung cancer, with ICERs from dominant to I$305,510/QALY and up to I$66,540/LYG. Nguyen 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A single ultrasound in men aged 65 years to detect abdominal aortic aneurysms would be cost-effective in New Zealand, with an ICER of $15,300/QALY gained compared with no screening. Nair 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Single-dose cholera vaccination is cost-effective in densely populated areas of Zambia, with an ICER of US$666 to $1006/DALY averted and up to US$27,976/life year saved compared with no vaccination. Tembo 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found limited evidence that Tai Ji Quan, resistance and stretching exercises may all be cost-effective at preventing falls in Parkinson's disease. Winser 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Maintenance therapy of recurrent ovarian cancer with Poly (ADP-Ribose) Polymerase Inhibitor niraparib is only likely to be cost-effective in the USA if the monthly cost is less than $3600 using a willingness to pay threshold of $100,000/progression-free QALY. Dottino 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Stem cell therapy for type 1 diabetes could be cost-effective for 3.4% of patients at a willingness to pay threshold of $150,000/QALY; reducing the cost by 75% would give it a 51% chance of being cost-effective at a WTP of $100,000/QALY. Bandeiras 2019 Go to paper on PubMed

Studies reporting mortality rates and trends

• Breast cancer incidence doubled in 60/102 countries but mortality-to-incidence ratio (MIR) fell overall from 0.41 in 1990 to 0.32 in 2016, with a negative gradient against human development index. Sharma 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• 5-year survival from breast cancer did not improve in Poland between 2010-2015 and was 37% less likely in women aged over 65 years compared with younger women despite similar treatment patterns. Krocik 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Annual mortality after osteoporotic hip fracture in Spain was 144.9/1,000 patients in 1999-2015 and increased by 2% per year; median survival was 886 days. Guzon-Illescas 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• 1-year mortality was 14.5% in patients admitted to hospital in Spain with heart failure and 32.6% of patients were readmitted within the year. Standardised mortality rates were lower in patients managed at high-volume hospitals and those with a cardiology department. Martinez Santos 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• A UK Biobank study found that adults with median age of 58.2 years who report a brisk walking pace had longer life expectancies than those who walked more slowly after a median 6.97 years' follow-up across all BMIs, ranging from 86.7 to 87.8 years in women and 85.2 to 86.8 years in men. Zaccardi 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
• Suicide rate was 163.1/100,000 person-years in patients in the UK after non-fatal self-harm; risk was higher in the first year after self-harm, 3-fold higher in men than women, and 3% higher per 1-year increase in age. Geulayov 2019 Go to paper on PubMed