BACKGROUND Although widely applied, the cost-effectiveness of endovenous laser ablation (EVLT) for varicose veins has not been established. METHODS Cost-effectiveness analysis was performed on the evaluation of EVLT for the treatment of uncomplicated varicose veins by using published data from randomizd clinical trials regarding the costs and the quality of life. Incremental cost per quality-...

M for evaluating health quality are central to medical decision analyses. The most important such method is the quality-adjusted life year (QALY), in which a patient’s length of life is given weight proportional to his/her quality of health. QALYs have become ubiquitous in medical cost-effectiveness as a measure of preference for health outcomes. However, numerous studies have demonstrated that...

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY to examine the costs and cost-effectiveness of 'second-generation' telecare, in addition to standard support and care that could include 'first-generation' forms of telecare, compared with standard support and care that could include 'first-generation' forms of telecare. DESIGN AND METHODS a pragmatic cluster-randomised controlled trial with nested economic evaluation. A ...

BACKGROUND Artificial bowel sphincter (ABS) and dynamic graciloplasty (DG) are surgical treatments for faecal incontinence (FI). FI may affect quality of life (QOL) so severely that patients are often willing to consider a permanent end stoma (ES). It is unclear which is the more cost-effective strategy. METHOD Probability estimates for patients with FI were obtained from published data (ABS,...

Methods for evaluating health quality are central to medical decision analyses. The most important such method is the quality-adjusted life year (or QALY), in which a patient's length of life is given weight proportional to quality of health. QALYs have become ubiquitous in medical cost-effectiveness as a measure of preference for health outcomes. However, numerous studies have demonstrated tha...

OBJECTIVE To estimate the cost-effectiveness of repeated screening for chlamydia trachomatis at various time intervals compared to one-off screening of Dutch young adults. METHODS We used a dynamic model to fully take the spread of the disease over time in the population into account, with data being used gathered within the context of a recently performed pilot study in The Netherlands. The ...

We estimated cost-effectiveness of annually vaccinating children not at high risk with inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV) to range from US $12,000 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) saved for children ages 6-23 months to $119,000 per QALY saved for children ages 12-17 years. For children at high risk (preexisting medical conditions) ages 6-35 months, vaccination with IIV was cost saving. Fo...

We performed a 1-year cluster-randomized field trial to assess the effect of standardized management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) on lung function and quality of life (QOL) measures in patients in China. We used the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) treatment guidelines and assessed indexes including pulmonary function, QOL, quality-adjusted life y...

The cost-effectiveness of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) based on a societal perspective is reassessed based on new medical evidence found in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI). Within a model framework using an individual state transition model the cost-effectiveness of 50-60 year old women with menopausal symptoms is assessed in Sweden. The Markov model has a 50 year time horizon divided ...

BACKGROUND In clinical trials, ranibizumab has been associated with stabilization and even improvement of visual acuity among patients with neovascular age related macular degeneration (AMD), but its use is also associated with considerable costs. OBJECTIVE The aim of this work was to compare ranibizumab with best supportive care or photodynamic therapy (PDT) for AMD by means of economic cost...