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

Published: 01-06-2020

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 June 2020.

Studies reporting utilities

  • SF-12 utility values and productivity losses significantly improved in adults with chronic rhinosinusitis in the USA after endoscopic sinus surgery. Beswick 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Estimated QALY loss was 3.823 x10^-3 per episode of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) in children under 5 years in the UK who sought health care and 3.024 x10^-3 in those without health care, 1.950 x10^-3 in older children and 1.543 x10^-3 in adults. Hodgson 2020 Go to paper on PubMed 
  • Mean SF-12 PCS and MCS scores were both 57 after robotic-assisted total knee arthroplasty in the US, above the population norm of 50; mean Forgotten Joint Score (FJS) was 75 and mean Knee Society total and subscores (KSS) was 84. Malkani 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • The EQ-5D-5L had a lower ceiling effect and higher discriminative power and reliability than the EQ-5D-3L in outpatients with type 2 diabetes in Indonesia. Arifin 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Ceiling effects in the EQ-5D-5L were affected by palliative care and FACT-P physical well-being and PC scores in men with prostate cancer in Japan. Murasawa 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • A systematic review found that utility values in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy ranged from 0.75 in early ambulatory disease to 0.05 with day and night ventilation; caregiver utilities were 0.71 to 0.87. Szabo 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • EQ-5D utility values were lower in patients with COPD in Spain who had more severe disease, more comorbidities and higher COPD assessment test (CAT) scores. Esquinas 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • The EQ-5D-5L and DEMQOL-Proxy-U did not measure quality of life well in dementia in the UK compared with disease-specific tools QOL-AD and QUALID. Martin 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • A systematic review found that utilities associated with pneumococcal infections ranged from 0 to 1 for both meningitis and otitis media and 0.3 to 0.7 for both pneumonia and sepsis. Shiri 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Utilities in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in the UK ranged from 0.76 for Kings stage 1 disease to 0.50 for Kings stage 4 and 0.25 in MiToS stage 2. Moore 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Utilities varied by method of assessment in people with intracerebral haemorrhage in the USA, with Standard Gamble giving higher values  (0.85 to 0.98) than EQ-5D at higher modified Rankin Scale scores. Slaughter 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • The EQ-5D-5L had superior performance to the EQ-5D-3L in assessing quality of life in elderly people in China. You 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • EQ-5D-5L population norms in Canada gave mean 0.824, median 0.867 index scores, and mean 75.9 and median 80 EQ-VAS scores. Poder 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • A systematic review found EQ-5D-3L health utilities in chronic hepatitis C were 0.751 for mild/moderate disease, 0.671 compensated cirrhosis, 0.662 for hepatocellular carcinoma, 0.602 for decompensated cirrhosis. Saeed 2020 Go to paper on PubMed

Studies validating a PRO instrument

  • The Michigan Hand Outcomes Questionnaire (MHQ), Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) and Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) had better construct validity than the SF-36 in people with traumatic finger amputation in the USA. Yoon 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • A systematic review identified and reviewed all diabetes-specific questionnaires validated in Brazilian Portuguese. Bottino 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • The The Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) was mapped to the Child Health Utility 9D (CHU9D) in children in Australia. Sweeney 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • The SF-12 and SF-6D were validated against the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM) and Patient-Oriented Scoring Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) in adults with atopic dermatitis in the UK. Silverberg 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • UK preference weights were determined for the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit for Carers (ASCOT-Carer) from the general population of England. Batchelder 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • The shortened Functional Difficulties Questionnaire (FDQ) was validated against the 13-item version in patients following cardiac surgery in Australia. Katijjahbe 2020 Go to paper on PubMed

Other PRO studies

  • A systematic review found that cisplatin was more likely than other platinum chemotherapy to cause hearing loss and tinnitus, causing impairment of quality of life. Pearson 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • EORTC QLQ-C30 scores before treatment for urothelial carcinoma in Japan did not correlate with overall survival, but appetite loss was associated with poor prognosis. Suppanuntaroek 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • 73% of middle-aged women in the 2013 US Nurses' Health Study II were sexually active and 50% of those had symptoms of sexual dysfunction on the Female Sexual Function Index. von Hippel 2019 Go to paper on PubMed

Studies reporting costs and resource use

  • Patients with FLT3 mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML) had a shorter time to stem cell transplant and higher total healthcare costs than those without the mutation in the USA. Willis 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • A systematic review found the costs of hospitalisation for typhoid fever were US$159 to $636 in Asia; targeted typhoid vaccination programs were generally cost-effective. Luthra 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Adults with hospital-acquired Clostridium difficile infection in Canada in 2012-2016 incurred mean direct costs of CAD $18,386, 27% higher than matched controls, and 13% greater length of stay. Leal 2019 Go to paper on PubMed 
  • Telemedicine for heart failure in Germany generally increased hospital admissions and direct costs, but significantly reduced mortality compared with usual care. Ehlert 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Adherence to dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors  was significantly higher than adherence to pioglitazone in US patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease in 2009 to 2015, although the difference reduced once generic pioglitazone was available. Gor 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Providing cost-free paracetamol to patients with osteoarthritis in Italy did not significantly reduce prescribing of NSAIDs, proton pump inhibitors or opioids. Vincentini 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • A systematic review found weak evidence that health-improving interventions such as exercise, counselling and CBT increase employment after 10+ months in unemployed job-seekers. Hult 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Up to 28% of patients admitted to ICU with severe COVID-19 infection are nursed in a prone position; 57% may develop pressure ulcers. Moore 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI) scores were associated with worse quality of life, increased hospitalisation rate and higher all-cause mortality in people receiving dialysis in the Netherlands. Schouten 2019 Go to paper on PubMed

Economic evaluations

  • Rotavirus vaccination remains cost-effective across most of the 73 GAVI countries, and could prevent 600,000 deaths in 2018 to 2027, saving $878million in societal costs. Debellut 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Adalimumab was not cost-effective in non-infectious uveitis in the UK, with an ICER of £92,600/QALY compared with usual care in active and £318,075/QALY in inactive uveitis. Bermejo 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Ceritinib is cost-effective first-line therapy in ALK-positive advanced non-small-cell lung cancer in China with an ICER of US$13,905/QALY compared with crizotinib; alectinib was not cost-effective, with an ICER of $62,231/QALY versus crizotinib. Li 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • The 21-gene assay Oncotype DX has a value between $162 million and $1.1 billion for reducing the likelihood of choosing a suboptimal adjuvant chemotherapy treatment strategy in intermediate- and high-risk women with hormone receptor-positive early-stage breast cancer in the US, at willingness-to-pay thresholds of $150 000 to $200 000/QALY.  Kunst 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • A systematic review concluded that sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors are cost-effective in type 2 diabetes compared with sulfonylureas, with a pooled incremental net benefit of $164.95, but not cost-effective compared with dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP4i) (incremental net benefit $3,675.09). Bagepally 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Reslizumab was cost-effective add-on therapy to inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting beta agonists in inadequately controlled severe eosinophilic asthma in Korea, with an ICER of US$23,081/QALY gained from a societal perspective compared with standard care. Han 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Cytological testing for papillomavirus every 3 years in women aged 21-29 years then continued 3-yearly cytological test or 5-yearly tests for high-risk HPV was the best balance of benefits, harms and costs in preventing cervical cancer in women in the USA. Sawaya 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is not cost-effective in men who have sex with men in Israel with an HIV prevalence of 1.74/1000 MSM, the ICER is US$967,744/DALY averted. Ginsberg 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Pembrolizumab may be cost-effective as first-line therapy of PD-L1-positive non-small-cell lung cancer in the USA, with an ICER of $130,155/QALY compared with platinum-based chemotherapy. Huang 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • The most cost-effective screening strategies for lung cancer in the US are the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) (screen up to age 74 yr, ICER = $49,200/QALY) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) (screen up to 77 yr, ICER = $68,600/QALY). Criss 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Ceritinib is not cost-effective for first-line therapy of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer with ALK mutation in China, with an ICER of at least $136,414/QALY. Peng 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Dabrafenib plus trametinib is cost-effective adjuvant therapy for BRAF V600E/K mutation-positive stage III melanoma in the US, with an ICER of $34,689/QALY compared with observation. Gerbasi 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Staff time saved from administering trastuzumab subcutaneously rather than IV amounted to €1610 over 17 cycles with lower productivity losses for patients with breast cancer in Ireland. O'Brien 2019 Go to paper on PubMed

Studies reporting mortality rates and trends

  • 2-year overall survival was 53.9% to 60.6% in adolescents and young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in Thailand 2015-2017, 39.2% in adults with no stem cell transplant and 70.1% in adults after SCT. Limvorapitak 2019 Go to paper on PubMed 
  • Median overall survival was 48.5 months and progression-free survival was 15.6 months from diagnosis in women with ovarian cancer in Denmark in 2013-2014. Berg 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Hospital standardised mortality ratios for stroke declined overall between 2012 to 2016 in Japan, but rates varied across hospitals. Amin 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Widespread community transmission of COVID-19 in Africa is likely to lead to 22% of the population infected in the first year, 4.6 million hospitalisations with 89,000 needing breathing support and 150,000 deaths. Cabore 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • One-year mortality after hip fracture hospitalisation was 35% in adults aged 75 years and older in France; 45% of survivors had cognitive decline and 11% were admitted to a nursing home after 1 year. Drevet 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Mortality due to COVID-19 is predicted to be <1% to 17.6% in people with cancer in Latin America, with peak ICU occupancy 16 days after infection. Ruiz-Patino 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • The IMV Mortality Prediction Score (IMPRES) was developed to predict mortality in patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation in intensive care in Turkey; mortality was 26.8% at scores 8. Ozlu 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Women with ductal carcinoma in situ detected on screening in the UK develop invasive breast cancer at a rate of 8.82/1000 women/year (2.52 times expected) and mortality from breast cancer is 1.26/1000 women/year, 70% higher than expected. Mannu 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Of 1150 adults admitted to hospital with COVID-19 in New York in March 2020, 39% had died by the end of April and 37% were still in hospital, 79% had been ventilated and 31% needed renal replacement therapy. Cummings 2020 Go to paper  on PubMed
  • Mortality from liver cirrhosis was significantly lower in Hispanics than in non-Hispanic white, African American and Asian populations in the USA. Atiemo 2019 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Adjuvant chemotherapy improved survival in younger (HR 0.56, 0.33 to 0.94) but not in older patients (HR 1.07, 0.66 to 1.74) with stage III colon cancer in Japan. Kawamura 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Predictors of severe COVID-19 in Korea were diabetes, body temperature ≥ 37.8°C, peripheral oxygen saturation < 92%, and CK-MB > 6.3. Jang 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • After propensity score matching, mortality from COVID-19 was lower in patients with hypertension who were taking ACE inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers in China compared with patients not taking these drugs, adjusted HR 0.30 (95%CI 0.12 to 0.70). Zhang 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Mortality in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 in Iran in February-March 2020 was 8%, 55.6% had been admitted to ICU. Shahriarirad 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Mortality in COVID-19 in China is higher in patients with hypertension than normal blood pressure (adjusted HR 2.12, 1.17to 3.82) and higher in hypertensives not on treatment than those taking antihypertensives (adjusted HR 2.17, 1.03 to 4.57). Gao 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Pregnancy-related mortality was 4.1 times as high in non-Hispanic black women than non-Hispanic white women in Louisiana 2011-2016; 59% of deaths in Black women were preventable vs 9% in White. Mehta 2020 Go to paper on PubMed
  • Projected life expectancy for people with sickle cell disease was 54 years compared with 76 years for those without SCD in the USA in 2017-2018; lifetime income loss due to premature mortality was $695,000 per patient. Lubeck 2019 Go to paper on PubMed