PURPOSE To estimate the cost-effectiveness of pregabalin as add-on therapy in patients with refractory partial epilepsy. METHODS We developed a model to estimate clinical and economic outcomes over 1 year in a hypothetical cohort of patients with refractory partial epilepsy assumed alternatively to receive add-on therapy with pregabalin (300 mg/day) or no add-on therapy. For each patient in t...

Letters The need to improve quality, rigour and dissemination of operations research Operations research is essential for developing a strong knowledge base and identifying innovative strategies to improve performance of health programmes. We applaud John Walley et al.'s call for operations research designed from the perspective of the in-country decision-makers and agree with the approaches ou...

BACKGROUND Overwhelming, sometimes fatal infections represent a lifelong risk after surgical removal of the spleen, or in patients who develop hyposplenism as a consequence of illnesses. This risk may be reduced by all or a combination of vaccination, antibiotic prophylaxis and education. We aimed to determine if a registry approach to delivering these interventions would be cost effective usin...

BACKGROUND The Active For Life Year 5 (AFLY5) randomised controlled trial protocol was published in this journal in 2011. It provided a summary analysis plan. This publication is an update of that protocol and provides a detailed analysis plan. UPDATE This update provides a detailed analysis plan of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the AFLY5 intervention. The plan includes details ...

OBJECTIVE We sought to compare total outpatient costs of 4 common treatments for low-back pain (LBP) at 18-months follow-up. METHODS Our work reports on findings from a randomized controlled trial within a large medical group practice treating HMO patients. Patients (n = 681) were assigned to 1 of 4 treatment groups, ie, medical care only (MD), medical care with physical therapy (MDPt), chiro...

BACKGROUND Other studies have demonstrated that the impact and cost effectiveness of rotavirus vaccination differs among countries, with greater mortality reduction benefits and lower cost-effectiveness ratios in low-income and high-mortality countries. This analysis combines the results of a country level model of rotavirus vaccination published elsewhere with data from Demographic and Health ...

OBJECTIVES To project the clinical and economic outcomes of a genotype assay for selection of third-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) in resource-limited settings, as per the planned international A5288 trial (MULTI-OCTAVE). METHODS We used the Cost-effectiveness of Preventing AIDS Complications (CEPAC)-International Model to compare three strategies for patients who have failed second-line A...

OBJECTIVE Systematic reviews (SRs) should include policy-relevant information in order to more readily inform policy and practice. We investigated whether SRs of overweight and obesity prevention interventions are framed in such a way that maximises their usefulness for policymakers. METHOD We conducted a systematic review of SRs of overweight and obesity prevention interventions published in...

BACKGROUND Indirect herd effect from vaccination of children offers potential for improving the effectiveness of influenza prevention in the remaining unvaccinated population. Static models used in cost-effectiveness analyses cannot dynamically capture herd effects. The objective of this study was to develop a methodology to allow herd effect associated with vaccinating children against seasona...

BACKGROUND More than half of all heart disease and stroke are attributable to hypertension, which is associated with approximately 10% of direct medical costs globally. Clinical trial evidence has demonstrated that the benefits of pharmacist intervention, including education, consultation and/or prescribing, can help to reduce blood pressure; a recent Canadian trial found an 18.3 mmHg reduction...