Published: 02-08-2018

We update the heoro.com database every day by running a systematic search of the PubMed database for articles relevant to health economics and outcomes research. In this blog, we add a summary of some of the key papers that were added each day in August 2018. 

Studies reporting utility values

• SF-36 values were similar in patients aged 80 years and older with acute coronary syndrome who received an invasive strategy with PCI or coronary artery bypass grafts versus a conservative strategy in Norway.  Tegn 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Population norms and reliability of the EQ-5D-5L and WHOQOL-BREF were derived in Indonesia. Purba 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• EQ-5D values were a better indication of the need for social care, as reflected by Barthel index score, than the well-being measures WEMWBS and GHQ-12 in a UK population. Singh 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Eight health states for acute myeloid leukaemia were validated in the UK general population using the time trade-off method and VAS scores. Castejonb 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Using EQ-5D, assessment of DALYs averted with HPV vaccine = 75% of QALYs gained in Argentina, 68% in Chile and 43% in the UK; models based on QALYs show vaccine to be more cost-effective than those based on DALYs. Augustovski 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• EQ-5D values and depression and anxiety scores improved significantly from baseline in a community programme to increase vitamin D levels. Kimball 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• EQ-5D values improved from 0.73 to 0.85 after 6 months of adalimumab, etanercept or ustekinumab for psoriasis in the UK. Iskandar 2017 Go to paper on PubMed

Studies validating a PRO instrument

• The Traditional Chinese Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory was validated against the SF-36 and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) in a Taiwanese general population. Chuang 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• A multidimensional questionnaire for evaluating quality of life in melasma (HRQ-melasma) was validated against the Melasma Area and Severity Score and MELASQoL  in patients with facial melasma in Brazil. Pollo 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Audit of Diabetes-Dependent Quality of Life (ADDQoL) has been validated in patients in Poland with type 1 and 2 diabetes. Bak 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Fatigue Scale-Child, Fatigue Scale-Adolescent, and the PROMIS Pediatric Fatigue Short Form correlated well in children in the USA undergoing chemotherapy for cancer.  Macpherson 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review concluded that few cross-cultural adaptations of the STarT Back Screening Tool had been adequately validated for use in patients with low back pain. Al Zoubi 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Carcinologic Handicap Index (CHI) was validated as a measure of disability in patients who have received treatment for head and neck cancer in France. Balaguer 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• High scores on the Brief Geriatric Assessment tool were predictive of in-hospital mortality in elderly patients in France. Launay 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Headache Under-Response to Treatment (HURT) was validated for a range of headache types in Europe and Saudi Arabia. Steiner 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• The Medication-Related Burden Quality of Life (MRB-QoL) tool was validated against the Medication Regimen Complexity Index (MRCI), Drug Burden Index (DBI) and Charlson's Comorbidity Index (CCI)  in Australian adults who were taking 3 or more drugs for chronic conditions. Mohammed 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Population reference values were determined, and found to be similar for Australia and Canada for the Knee Society Score, Oxford Knee Score (OKS) and Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). McLean 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) discriminates well across subgroups of Australian men but correlation is weak with SF-36 and AQoL-4D values, suggesting the IPSS should complement rather than replace the utility values in economic evaluations. Mpundu-Kaambwa 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review concluded that the ankle-fracture outcome of rehabilitation measure (A-FORM) is the best PRO instrument to measure response to treatment after ankle fracture. Ng 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System computer adaptive testing (PROMIS CAT) correlated well with the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) in patients receiving chiropractic care in the USA. Papuga 2018 Go to paper on PubMed

Other PRO studies

•  Quality of life, on the Short Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (SIBDQ), was affected by disease severity in patients with Crohn's disease; older age did not affect quality of life in Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis in the USA.  Perera 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Breathlessness was the symptom that had the greatest impact on functioning, activities and self-care in UK patients with COPD, measured with the Adherence Starts with Knowledge-12 (ASK-12) and the COPD and Asthma Sleep Impact Scale (CASIS) questionnaires. Doward 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Chemoradiotherapy did not significantly improve dysphagia or survival but did increase adverse events compared with radiotherapy in patients with advanced oesophageal cancer. Penniment 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Quality of life on the EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-BR23 improves in the first year of follow-up for women with breast cancer in Morocco. Traore 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mini-Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (mini-AQLQ) scores were not statistically different in Swedish cohorts from 2005 and 2015, with mean scores of 5.39 in 2005 and 5.44 in 2015. Sundh 2017 Go to paper on PubMed

Studies reporting costs and resource use

• Endovascular procedures were associated with lower adjusted mortality and $9196 lower hospital costs than open surgery in patients with acute mesenteric ischaemia in the USA.  Erben 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Increasing adherence to osteoporotic medication would reduce fractures and could save $5 million in healthcare costs a year in Korea. Cho 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• The J-ERATO score was able to predict hospital admission, intensive care admission and hospital mortality in patients in Japan with heat-related illness. Hayashida 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review concluded that the presence of cardiovascular disease, coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke increased healthcare costs of type 2 diabetes by 112%, 107%, 59%, and 322% respectively, or $3418 to $9705 higher costs per patient. Einarson 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• All smokers in Germany in 2009 will incur €41.56 billion more healthcare costs than non-smokers over their lifetimes; implementing WHO FCTC guidelines on tobacco control could reduce this by at least €1.7billion. Sonntag 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Total healthcare costs were $9248 lower and length of stay was shorter in US patients with head and neck cancer who received a gastrostomy tube preoperatively compared with postoperatively.  Mays 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Costs of detecting 1 colorectal cancer case in Korea would decrease from US$8212 to $7332 if false positive rates of 6.8% in non-accredited fecal immunochemical testing centres was reduced to accredited centre rate of 2.5%. Jun 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Costs of diagnosis and early treatment of obstructive sleep apnea in the USA were lower with a direct-to-autotitrating PAP strategy than other scenarios, $456 per patient for direct-to-auto-PAP compared with $1090 for an unattended approach. Bravata 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review concluded that the adjusted disease-specific direct costs of non-adherence to medication were $949 to $44,190 per patient in 2015 US$. Cutler 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Mean 6-month costs of hospitalisation for falls were $25,652, and costs of ED admissions for falls were $18,091 in US adults wtih transfemoral amputations. Mundell 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• An integrated care approach for frequent ED attendees in the USA decreased ED visits by a non-significant 31%, mean direct costs were 8% lower compared with usual care. Lin 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Total costs are lower for continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis and ambulatory peritoneal dialysis than haemodialysis in Italy. Vaccaro 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Total annual costs of psoriasis in Germany in 2013-14 were €5543: direct costs were €5164, of which systemic treatment costs were €3733 and out of pocket costs were €224, and indirect costs were €379. Jungen 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• The economic burden of schizophrenia in Italy was estimated at €2.7billion for  303,913 patients; 50% were indirect costs, 10% of direct costs were costs of drug treatments. Marcellusi 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found that costs of adverse events from systemic treatments for advanced melanoma could equal 4% to 37% of all treatment costs. Copley-Merriman 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found mixed results on whether anxiety increased healthcare use and costs in people aged 65 years and older, total excess costs ranged from -116 to 19,003 $PPP per year. Hohls 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found that hospitalisation frequency for people receiving treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer was 2.5 to 11.1/100 patient-weeks and emergency visit frequency ranged from 0.3 to 5.9 per 100 patient-weeks across countries. Lee 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• 23% of men and 42% of women aged 21-29yr who survived acute lymphoblastic leukaemia as children are still attending follow-up visits 9+ years later in Japan. Maeda 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review found that antidepressants may improve workplace functioning in adults with major depressive disorder. Lee 2018 Go to paper on PubMed

Economic evaluations

• Only regimens including daratumumab or panobinostat are likely to be cost-effective for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma in the USA. Carlson 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Adding nab-paclitaxel to gemcitabine is cost-effective in metastatic pancreatic cancer in Italy, with an ICER of €46,022/QALY gained compared with gemcitabine alone. Lazzaro 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Treating all patients with hepatitis C with direct-acting antivirals regardless of fibrosis stage is cost-effective in Italy compared with only treating patients who have stage F3/F4 fibrosis, with an ICER of €8775/QALY gained. Ruggeri 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Nurse telephone support and home telemonitoring are cost-effective compared with usual care in patients with heart failure in the Netherlands, with ICERs of €8270 and €12,479/QALY.  Grustam 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• A systematic review concluded that the cost-effectiveness of screening for prostate cancer is still unclear; strategies that use a PSA threshold of 3.0 ng/mL may be cost-effective from the age of 55 years. Sanghera 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Adding fluoride to drinking water is cost-effective for caries prevention in populations larger than 500 in New Zealand, gaining 8800 to 13,700 QALYs and saving NZ$1401 over 20 years. Moore 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Carbon ion radiation therapy (CIRT) is cost-effective for skull-base chordomas compared with photon radiotherapy in Germany, with an ICER of €8,855.76/QALY; adding imatinib for progression/recurrence reduced the ICER to €170.61/QALY.  Sprave 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• The most cost-effective DPP-4 inhibitor for type 2 diabetes in Brazil is sitagliptin plus metformin, costing US$1,506.75 per patient per year per 1% reduction in HbA1c. Cazarim 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Community-based screening of women after breast conserving surgery for local breast cancer in the Netherlands is cost-saving compared with hospital screening but is almost 50% less accurate. de Ligt 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Empagliflozin is cost-effective in type 2 diabetes in Greece, with an ICER of €4633/QALY gained compared with usual care. Gourzoulidis 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Walk-in fingertip HbA1c testing at community pharmacies in Japan is cost-effective compared with hospital-based monitoring of patients with diabetes, reducing costs and increasing QALYs. Shono 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• For adults with type 1 diabetes and inadequate control in the USA, continuous glucose monitoring may be cost-effective, with an ICER of $98,108/QALY gained over self-monitoring. Wan 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Methotrexate was the most cost-effective treatment for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma in the USA, followed by interferon-alpha and extracorporeal photopheresis. Geskin 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Free oxygen technology is cost-effective for patients with COPD in Canada who are hospitalised for acute exacerbations, saving CAN$96.91 for every 1% increase in time spent at target oxygen saturation compared with manual titration of oxygen. Poder 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Endovascular therapy for ischaemic stroke is cost-saving compared with usual care in adults aged 50 to 79 years in the USA and cost-effective at older ages. Kunz 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• The most cost-effective treatment of chronic cutaneous leishmaniasis ulcers in Afghanistan was electro-thermal debridement with moist wound treatment, with an ICER of US$0.09 per wound-free day compared with intra-dermal sodium stibogluconate. Stahl 2018 Go to paper on PubMed

Studies reporting mortality rates and trends

•  Unadjusted 1-year mortality after percutaneous coronary intervention was 5.0% with bare metal stents and 3.8% for drug-eluting stents in India between 2012 and 2016. Duggal 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• UK patients with heart failure and atrial fibrillation had an all-cause mortality of 70.8% between 2000-2013, compared with 64.1% in those with heart failure and sinus rhythm and 45.1% for those with atrial fibrillation alone. Ziff 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• Taller adult height in Japan was associated with a reduced mortality risk from cerebrovascular disease in men and women, and with lower respiratory but higher cancer mortality in men. Ihira 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• 5-year overall survival was significantly higher in patients with colorectal cancer in the UK undergoing laparoscopic compared with open surgery, 78% vs 70% respectively. Curtis 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• A low SF-36 score was a reliable predictor of 8-year mortality in US patients at risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Lahoud 2017 Go to paper on PubMed
• Overall survival in patients with parotid gland carcinoma in Japan after surgical excision was 85% at 3 years, with 74% disease-free survival; high grade histology or advanced/metastatic disease, age over 74 yr and preoperative facial nerve palsy were associated with worse OS, postoperative radiotherapy improved OS. Honda 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• 5-year survival after liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma in Colombia was 67% in 1999-2007 and 93.5% in 2008-2015 for patients fulfilling Milan criteria for transplant; all those with poor tumour differentiation died within 3 yr. Caicedo 2018 Go to paper on PubMed
• All-cause mortality was increased for up to 2 years after paracetamol poisoning in Taiwan between 2003 and 2012, incidence rate ratio vs controls = 8.1, 95%CI 6.3 to 10.2. Huang 2018 Go to paper on PubMed