BACKGROUND It is unknown to what extent at what expense flexible sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy add to the diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The aim of the study was to assess the incremental cost-effectiveness of endoscopic procedures in the workup for IBS. METHODS Using the Bayes formula, we calculated the increase in diagnostic certainty for a consecutive number of tests. We also...

Background: Multiple targeted immunomodulators (TIMs) for psoriatic arthritis (PsA) treatment are available, but limited studies have directly compared these agents. This study indirectly compared the efficacy of TNF-α, interleukins, and phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitors for treatment of active PsA. Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted to identify phase III randomized controlled t...

In order to improve the knowledge and skills of midwives at health facilities and those based in villages in South Kalimantan, Indonesia, three in-service training programmes were carried out during 1995–98. A scheme used for both facility and village midwives included training at training centres, peer review and continuing education. One restricted to village midwives involved an internship p...

In order to improve the knowledge and skills of midwives at health facilities and those based in villages in South Kalimantan, Indonesia, three in-service training programmes were carried out during 1995-98. A scheme used for both facility and village midwives included training at training centres, peer review and continuing education. One restricted to village midwives involved an internship p...

The purpose of this study is to investigate the cost-effectiveness of naratriptan and rizatriptan therapy for migra ine at tacks. Methods: cost-effectiveness analysis from the healthcare financer perspective in Spain, using a model based on a decision tree, which incorporates the direct healthcare costs and the probabilities associated with each of the possible outcomes. The average cost-ef fec...

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh A common way to evaluate the time complexity of an algorithm is to use asymptotic worst-case analysis and to express the cost of the computation as a function of the size of the input. However, for an incremental algorithm this kind of analysis is sometimes not very informative. (By an “incremental algorithm...

BACKGROUND Rates of nonadherence to aromatase inhibitors (AIs) among Medicare beneficiaries with hormone receptor-positive early breast cancer are high. Out-of-pocket drug costs appear to be an important contributor to this and may be addressed by eliminating copayments and other forms of patient cost sharing. The authors estimated the incremental cost-effectiveness of providing Medicare benefi...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of bendamustine compared with chlorambucil as first-line treatment for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who would be considered unsuitable for treatment with fludarabine combination chemotherapy regimens. METHODS A semi-Markov approach was used to estimate time in each health state. The model was parameterized primarily by using data fro...

BACKGROUND/AIMS To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of ranibizumab as either monotherapy or combined with laser therapy, compared with laser monotherapy, in the treatment of diabetic macular oedema (DME) causing visual impairment from a UK healthcare payer perspective. METHODS A Markov model simulated long-term outcomes and costs of treating DME in one eye (BCVA ≤75 letters) based on data from...