BACKGROUND The antiplatelet agent, cilostazol, is known to reduce the risk of subsequent cerebral infarction. However, the cost effectiveness of such treatment in comparison to aspirin has not been studied. METHODS AND RESULTS A Markov model was developed to calculate the health outcomes and associated costs for 65-year-old patients with cerebral infarction who were treated with 200 mg/day ci...

For economic and policy analyses requiring a summary health outcome measure that integrates quantity-of-life and quality-oflife impacts, the quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) has been widely recognized and endorsed [1–3]. The US Panel on Cost-Effectiveness in Health and Medicine recommended the QALY for “reference case” analyses [2]. The UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence ...

OBJECTIVE The study reports the cost-effectiveness results of end-stage renal disease (ESDR) patients in Mexico in terms of years of life gained and quality of life and the economic cost with regards to three treatment alternatives that could be considered mutually exclusive: continuous peritoneal ambulatory dialysis (CAPD), hemodialysis (HD) and renal transplant (RT). METHOD The economic cos...

More than 75,000 rotator cuff repairs are performed annually, yet cost-effectiveness data are unavailable. This study examines the cost utility of rotator cuff repair by relating surgical costs to increase in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). Eighty-seven patients were followed up prospectively for 1 year, during which cost and quality of life data were collected. Patient-based utility measu...

STUDY DESIGN Cost-effectiveness analysis. OBJECTIVE To examine the cost-effectiveness of operative versus non-operative treatment of type-II odontoid fractures in patients older than 64 years old. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Significant controversy exists regarding the optimum treatment of geriatric patients with type-II odontoid fractures. Operative treatment leads to lower rates of non-uni...

AIMS Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT-P) is an effective treatment for patients with heart failure and cardiac dyssynchrony with moderate or severe symptoms despite pharmacological therapy. The addition of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) function may further reduce the risk of sudden death. We assessed the cost-effectiveness of CRT-P compared with medical therapy (MT) alon...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Contingent valuation is widely used to determine individuals' willingness to pay (WTP) for a health gain. Our study aimed to elicit an empirical estimate of the monetary value of a quality-adjusted life year (QALY) in a Greek outpatient setting in times of economic austerity and assess the impact of patients' characteristics on their valuations. METHODS We used a ques...

BACKGROUND Community assets are promoted as a way to improve quality of life and reduce healthcare usage. However, the quantitative impact of participation in community assets on these outcomes is not known. METHODS We examined the association between participation in community assets and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) (EuroQol-5D-5L) and healthcare usage in 3686 individuals aged ≥65 ...

OBJECTIVES We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of rituximab added to the chemotherapy regimen of fludarabine plus cyclophosphamide (R-FC) versus fludarabine plus cyclophosphamide (FC) for the treatment of patients with previously untreated or relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). METHODS Two Markov models were built, using published results on progression-free survival (PFS)...