The aim of this study is to identify and characterize the health economic evaluations (HEEs) of diagnostic tests conducted in Brazil, in terms of their adherence to international guidelines for reporting economic studies and specific questions in test accuracy reports. We systematically searched multiple databases, selecting partial and full HEEs of diagnostic tests, published between 1980 and ...

BACKGROUND There is evidence that prehospital thrombolysis improves the outcome in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). OBJECTIVE This study aimed at comparing the cost-effectiveness of prehospital compared to inhospital thrombolysis for STEMI from the National Health System perspective. METHODS A decision-analytic model was used to compare these two strategies. The study endpoint wa...

There are various approaches to the definition of alternative patterns of health care. One is to consider methods of providing care which differ from those at present being applied. This raises many questions about how care might be delivered, or the techniques of care delivery. Strictly defined, however, the word 'alternative' does not mean 'different' but 'offering a choice of two things'. On...

OBJECTIVES To determine and compare the cost-effectiveness of implementing 3 screening strategies to detect human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among pregnant women in Chicago, Illinois: no screening, voluntary screening, and universal screening. METHODS A decision-analysis model was developed, using standard cost-effectiveness analysis from a societal perspective. Reference case est...

BACKGROUND Passive case finding (PCF) is the strategy implemented by most developing countries to detect new cases of tuberculosis (TB), but detection rates remain low. Active case finding (ACF) is an alternative strategy, although cost is a barrier to implementation. We estimated the cost-effectiveness of a city-wide ACF programme in Kampala, Uganda, compared to the PCF strategy. METHODS We ...

Editors from a number of medical journals lay out principles for journals considering publication of Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER). In order to encourage dissemination of this editorial, this article is freely available in PLoS Medicine and will be also published in Medical Decision Making, Croatian Medical Journal, The Cochrane Library, Trials, The American Journal of Managed Care, ...

The use of indirect comparisons to evaluate the relative effectiveness between two or more treatments is widespread in the literature and continues to grow each year. Appropriate methodologies will be essential for integrating data from various published clinical trials into a systematic framework as part of the increasing emphasis on comparative effectiveness research. This article provides a ...

Dear Editor, We have read with interest the paper by MezonesHolguin et al., 2014 [1] recently published in this journal, reporting the cost effectiveness estimates for pneumococcal conjugated vaccines (PCVs) in Peru. After careful examination of the analysis, we identify some methodological inconsistencies, which we believe would make this study insufficient for decision making. A detailed disc...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the capacity implications and health economic impact of new guidelines recommending referral to colposcopy after one mild result during cervical screening rather than after two consecutive mild results. DESIGN A mathematical model of the country's colposcopy services and the clinical pathways from smear result through to treatment is constructed. The model incorporates n...

The protein A immunoadsorption column is a new treatment for immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). We used a decision-analytic approach with a Markov process to model the cost effectiveness of this treatment compared with splenectomy for steroid-resistant ITP patients. Data informing the model were obtained from published literature, a panel of physicians, and public databases. We found initia...