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Blog - New studies added to heoro.com in July 2020

Published: 01-07-2020

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 July 2020.

Studies reporting utilities

  • EQ-5D values were higher at baseline and improved less after surgery for degenerative lumbar spine disorders as the rate of surgery increased over 2010 to 2015 in Norway. Rudolfsen 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • EQ-5D-5L health states were valued against time trade-off and discrete choice experiments in the general population in Poland. Golicki 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • EQ-5D self-rated health values were significantly higher in patients who received chemotherapy in an orange-coloured room than a white room in Spain; differences in sunlight due to North- vs South-facing windows did not make a difference. Gomez-Vela 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • A systematic review found that low SF-36 scores were reported more than 6 months after discharge in survivors of SARS and MERS; PTSD affected 39%, depression 33% and anxiety 30% of survivors.Ahmed 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • A systematic review identified 233 mapping functions for quality of life tools to preference-based utility measures: EQ-5D, SF-6D, HUI, QWB, AQoL, 15D/16D/17D, CHU-9D. Mukuria 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • In people with cancer in Canada, Edmonton Symptom Assessment System scores for pain, tiredness and depression were strongly associated with EQ-5D-3L utility values. Moskovitz 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • A systematic review identified utility values in multiple myeloma of approximately 0.55 at diagnosis, 0.65 after first-line therapy and increasing by 0.06 after stem cell transplant. Hatswell 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Mean EORTC QLU-C10D utility value was 0.791 in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma, colorectal, thyroid, and prostate cancer in the Netherlands, lowest in multiple myeloma at 0.663. van Gelder 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) scores have been mapped to the EQ-5D-5L in patients with hip or knee osteoarthritis in Spain. Bilbao 2020 Go to paper on PubMed

Studies validating a PRO instrument

  • The Diabetes Strengths and Resilience (DSTAR)  measure was validated in children aged 9 to 13 years with type 1 diabetes in the USA. Iturralde 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • The Health and Self-Management in Diabetes Questionnaire (HASMID) was validated against the EQ-5D in people with diabetes in the UK. Carlton 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • The Ankylosing Spondylitis Performed-Based Improvement (ASPI) was more responsive to change after 12 weeks of exercise therapy than the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI) in patients with axial spondyloarthritis. Fongen 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • In adults with pruritus in Korea, visual analog scale (VAS), numeric rating scale (NRS) and verbal rating scale (VRS) scores were strongly correlated; Itch Severity Scale (ISS) scores correlated better with ItchyQoL. Jang 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • The quality of well being self-administered (QWB-SA) questionnaire was validated against the EQ-5D-5L in the general population of Indonesia. Andayani 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • An  updated lung cancer module, QLQ-LC29, was validated against the EORTC QLQ-C30 in people with lung cancer internationally. Koller 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • A systematic review concluded that the OHRQoL-OSF has validity in assessing quality of life in people with oral submucous fibrosis. Gondivkar 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • The Basal and Squamous Cell Carcinoma QoL (BaSQoL) was validated against the Skin Cancer Index (SCI), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) in patients with basal or squamous cell carcinoma in the US. Yu 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • The threshold change in Migraine Specific Quality-of-Life Questionnaire online score to establish a treatment benefit was 25 points in episodic migraine and 17 points in chronic migraine. Speck 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Clinical cutoff scores were established for the PedsQL epilepsy module in children with epilepsy in the USA. Junger 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • The Fatigue Severity Scale was validated against the SF-36, Stroke specific quality of life (SSQOL-A) and Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) in patients with stroke in Saudi Arabia. Abdulla 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • The Health education impact questionnaire (heiQ) was validated against the SF-36 in people with chronic disease in Italy. Pozza 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • The Spanish Satisfaction with Life Scale SWLS was validated for intercultural comparisons in older adults in Spain and Peru. Sancho 2019 Go to paper on PubMed

Other PRO studies

  • Mean improvement in  National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI VFQ-25) total scores was +6.11 after 8 intravitreal injections of aflibercept over 52 weeks in adults with diabetic macular oedema. Garweg 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • A systematic review concluded that most of the tools used in primary care to screen for autism spectrum disorder had a moderate to high predictive value in children aged 16 to 40 months but no studies evaluated the impact of screening on treatment or harm. Levy 2020 Go to paper on PubMed

Studies reporting costs and resource use

  • Annual additional costs of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for upper respiratory tract infections in Japan decreased from USD423.6 million in 2013 to US$297.1 million in 2016, >90% of excess costs were due to third-generation cephalosporins, macrolides, and fluoroquinolones. Tsuzuki 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • In patients with COVID-19 in Mexico, the risk of hospitalisation (OR 3.1), pneumonia (OR 3.02), ICU admission (OR 2) and mortality (HR 3.5) were significantly higher in those with 3 or more comorbidities than those with fewer comorbidities. Kammar-Garcia 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • A systematic review found that up to 87% of direct costs in rheumatoid arthritis were drug costs and increased over time with a fall in hospitalisation costs; indirect costs accounted for 39% to 86% of total costs. Hseih 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Of 126 children hospitalised with rotavirus in Armenia in 2014, 19% had been vaccinated; economic losses from hospitalisation were around US$33,346. Hovhannisyan 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • A systematic review found that productivity costs from an episode of dengue in Asia ranged from US$6.7 to 1446 for hospitalised patients and US$3.8 to 1332 for those managed as outpatients; productivity losses for fatal cases were US$12,035 to 1,145,237. Hung 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Direct costs of presentations to the emergency department in Australia in 2014 were $590 for those that were alcohol-related compared with $575 for non-alcohol-related attendances, largely driven by injuries. Lingamanaicker 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • By May 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had led to global consumption losses of $3.8 trillion, with $2.1 trillion income losses and $147 million job losses. Lenzen 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Across Europe and Israel, median follow-up healthcare costs were €717 per patient/year for Crohn's disease, €415/pt/year for ulcerative colitis and €415/pt/year for unclassified inflammatory bowel disease; mean annual cost for biologicals was €1782/pt/year for Crohn's disease and €286/pt/year for ulcerative colitis. Burisch 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Mean annual costs of COPD were €2,647 per patient in Italy in 2018; main determinants were number of exacerbations and use of liquid oxygen or combination therapy. Corsico 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Mean length of stay was 3.1 days and mean ICU length of stay was 1.2 days in adults having PCI after acute myocardial infarction in the USA, index hospitalisation costs were $19,327 for STEMI and $18,465 for non-STEMI, mean 1-year post-discharge costs were $8037 and 48% were rehospitalised. Cowper 2019 Go to paper on PubMed

Economic evaluations

  • COVID-19 accounted for 2.01 DALYs per 1,000 persons in Italy up to 28 April 2020, with total permanent productivity loss of €300 million and temporary productivity loss of 100 million. Nurchis 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Ibalizumab was not cost-effective in people with multidrug-resistant HIV infections in the USA when added to optimised background regimen, with an ICER of $260,900/QALY gained and budget impact of $1.8 billion over 5 years for 12,000 patients. Millham 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Glecaprevir plus pibrentasvir was more cost-effective than sofosbuvir plus velpatasvir or sofosbuvir plus daclatasvir in early genotype 1 hepatitis C infection in Brazil. Ferreira 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Analysis of real-world data of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer in Taiwan found that erlotinib had an ICER of US$17,960/life-year and US$12,782/QALY compared with gefitinib and dominated afatinib. Yang 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Home Maintenance Allergen Immunotherapy is cost-effective during the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA compared with clinic-administered immunotherapy as long as risk of systemic reactions are <15%. Shaker 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • A systematic review found that mHealth technologies were cost-effective to prevent and control type 2 diabetes; the cost per QALY ranged between 0.4% and 62.5% of GDP per capita of the country. Rinaldi 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Osimertinib is not cost-effective as first-line treatment of advanced EGFR-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer in Spain, with an ICER of €273,895/QALY gained compared with erlotinib or gefitinib. Aguilar-Serra 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Pitolisant may be cost-effective for narcolepsy over 50 years in Sweden, with an ICER of SEK 356,337/QALY gained compared with standard care. Bolin 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Pembrolizumab is not cost-effective as first-line therapy in advanced or metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer in China, with an ICER of $36,493 to $42,311/QALY compared with chemotherapy. Zhou 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Ramucirumab plus paclitaxel is cost-effective as second-line therapy for advanced gastric or gastro-oesophageal cancer in China compared with paclitaxel alone if it costs less than $753 for 4 weeks' therapy. Li 2020 Go to paper on PubMed

Studies reporting mortality rates and trends

  • There was a nonsignificant increase in the risk of testing positive for COVID-19 and having a severe illness in patients taking any class of antihypertensive drug vs no hypertension in 12,594 people tested in the USA. Reynolds 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Non-Hispanic Black patients made up 70.4% of 3481 patients with COVID-19 in Louisiana, USA, 76.9% of those hospitalised and 70.6% of those who died; black race was not independently predictive of mortality after adjusting for other risk factors. Price-Haywood 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Mortality in 94 patients on haemodialysis in Italy who contracted COVID-19 was 29% overall: 8% of those managed as outpatients and 42% of those hospitalised died. Alberici 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Mortality in 202 patients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China who had emergency tracheal intubation was 10.4% after 24 hours, 5.9% had pneumothorax and 2% cardiac arrest after intubation. Yao 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Mortality from 7 cancers improved between 1995 and 2014, with better survival in Australia, Canada and Norway than in New Zealand, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK and greater improvements in adults 75 yr and in cancers with worse prognosis. Arnold 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • A systematic review found that case fatality from COVID-19 in children was 0% up to 1st April 2020; 6.8% of 58 neonates born to infected mothers tested positive for COVID-19. Mustafa 2020 Go to paper on PubMed 
  • Convalescent plasma reduced viral shedding after 3 days in 6 patients with COVID-19 in China but did not reduce mortality: 5 of the 6 patients died. Zeng 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Age-standardised mortality from inflammatory bowel disease decreased from 0.61/100,000 in 1990 to 0.51/100,000 in 2017 internationally; age-standardised DALYs decreased from 26.5 to 23.2/100,000. GBD 2017 IBD Collaborators 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Mortality was 1.13% in women and 1.88% in men  of 9,148 patients with confirmed COVID-19 in Korea, most cases were in young adults aged 20 to 29 years;  blood disorders, heart failure and renal failure increased mortality more than 3-fold. Kim 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Mortality was 25.6% in 238 patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in Spain overall, 78.7% in adults needing help with activities of daily living, 80.8% in those from nursing homes; risk was 2.4-fold in those with diabetes. Rivera-Izquierdo 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Mean time from onset of COVID-19 symptoms to death was 22.3 days in Wuhan, China; time from hospitalisation to death was 15.9 days in those admitted to ICU vs 12.5 days in the 46.8% of patients unable to access ICU. Du 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Cumulative survival in patients who survived 30 days after hospitalisation for pneumococcal pneumonia in Spain was 93.9% at 1 year, 85.3% at 3 years and 76% at 5 years. Ruiz 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Mortality from COVID-19 was 5.8% overall and 15.2% in adults aged 65+ years in Bosnia-Herzegovina by May 16 2020; 15.8% of patients required hospitalisation. Arapovic 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Mortality was 11.8% in 1591 patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in Italy; age and diabetes, COPD and chronic kidney disease comorbidity significantly increased the risk. Iaccarino 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Mortality among patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in the US was 28.8% in those with diabetes overall, 41.7% in those with uncontrolled hyperglycaemia, 14.8% in controlled diabetes and 6.2% in those without diabetes. Bode 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • A systematic review identified 98 ongoing studies evaluating the impact of convalescent plasma and hyperimmune immunoglobulin in COVID-19; there is not enough evidence yet to know if it reduces mortality or need for ventilation. Piechotta 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Mortality in patients aged 65+yrs with fracture of the proximal femur in Spain was 30.4% in those positive for COVID-19, 10.3% in those testing negative and 2.7% in those not tested; 4% died after surgery compared with 67% who died after nonoperative management. Munoz Vives 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • An interim analysis of data from an RCT found no protective effect of ramipril after transcatheter aortic valve implantation on risk of catching or dying of COVID-19. Amat-Santos 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • In 1317 patients with diabetes hospitalised in France with COVID-19, 10.6% died within 7 days; BMI was associated with increased mortality but glucose control was not a significant predictor. Cariou 2020 Go to paper on PubMed