BACKGROUND Therapeutic hypothermia can improve survival and neurological outcomes in cardiac arrest survivors, but its cost-effectiveness is uncertain. We sought to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of treating comatose cardiac arrest survivors with therapeutic hypothermia. METHODS AND RESULTS A decision model was developed to capture costs and outcomes for patients with witnessed out-of-hospit...

BACKGROUND The Asymptomatic Carotid Atherosclerosis Study (ACAS) showed that carotid endarterectomy was beneficial for symptom-free patients with carotid stenosis of 60% or more. This finding raises the question of whether widespread screening to identify cases of asymptomatic carotid stenosis should be implemented. OBJECTIVE To determine whether a screening program to identify cases of asymp...

BACKGROUND Studies have shown diverse strength of evidence for the associations between air pollutants and childhood asthma, but these associations have scarcely been documented in the early life. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impacts of various air pollutants on the development of asthma phenotypes in the first year of life. METHODS Adjusted odds ratios were estimated to asse...

Recent data from the medical literature and other sources were used in an analysis of the cost-effectiveness of coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) in symptomatic patients. Health effectiveness was expressed as the gain in quality-adjusted life expectancy, allowing for a range of subjective weights attached to symptomatic benefits. Costs included those of surgery, medical management of ...

PURPOSE A recent increase in the detection of contrast enhancing renal masses 4 cm or smaller suspicious for malignancy has led to the widespread use of nephron sparing options. Limited data exist to help clinicians decide which of these competing nephron sparing therapies is most appropriate. We performed a cost-effectiveness analysis to evaluate the relative clinical and economic merits of co...

BACKGROUND Continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) have become the dominant devices for mechanical circulatory support, but their cost-effectiveness is undetermined. This study assessed the cost-effectiveness of continuous-flow devices for destination therapy versus optimal medical management in advanced heart failure and compared the results with previous estimates for pulsatil...

AIMS The aim of the present analysis was to estimate the cost-effectiveness of intense insulin treatment after acute myocardial infarction in patients with diabetes mellitus based on the results of the Diabetes Mellitus Insulin Glucose Infusion in Acute Myocardial Infarction (DIGAMI) study. In this study 620 patients with diabetes mellitus and acute myocardial infarction were randomized to inte...

OBJECTIVES We estimated the burden of disease in the United States attributable to obesity by gender, with life expectancy, quality-adjusted life expectancy, years of life lost annually, and quality-adjusted life years lost annually as outcome measures. METHODS We obtained burden of disease estimates for adults falling into the following body-mass index categories: normal weight (23 to <25), ...

BACKGROUND Magnetic fields (MF) from AC electricity are a Possible Human Carcinogen, based on limited epidemiologic evidence from exposures far below occupational health limits. METHODS To help formulate government guidance on occupational MF, the cancer cases prevented and the monetary benefits accruing to society by reducing workplace exposures were determined. Life-table methods produced D...