BACKGROUND Outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) is the administration of intravenous antimicrobial therapy to patients in an outpatient setting. It may be used for patients who have infections that require parenteral treatment but who are otherwise stable enough to not require admission as inpatients. OBJECTIVE We aimed to review the treatment of patients with acute tonsillophar...

BACKGROUND There are over 12 million ambulatory care visits for acute pharyngitis annually in the United States. Current guidelines recommend diagnosis through culture or rapid antigen detection test (RADT) and relatively straightforward treatment. Community pharmacists may provide cost-effective care for disease states such as group A streptococcus (GAS) pharyngitis. OBJECTIVES The objective...

OBJECTIVES We examined the cost-effectiveness of treating poorly controlled, severe, persistent asthma patients with bronchial thermoplasty (BT), a novel technology that uses thermal energy to reduce airway smooth muscle mass, with 5-year outcome data demonstrating a durable reduction in asthma exacerbations. STUDY DESIGN We conducted a model-based cost-effectiveness analysis assessing 5-year...

BACKGROUND Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is an established but expensive treatment alternative for many forms supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). Currently no studies exist on the cost-effectiveness of RFA compared to medical treatment (MT) in adult Latin American population. METHODS Between 2007 and 2012, we identified 103 adults who underwent RFA for SVT in the National Unit of Cardiovascul...

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES This randomised controlled trial was conducted to estimate the cost-effectiveness of a nurse-led education and psychosocial support programme for patients with heart failure (HF) and their partners. BACKGROUND There are few studies evaluating cost-effectiveness of interventions among HF patient-partner dyads. METHODS Dyads randomised to the experimental group received nu...

BACKGROUND For the treatment of depressive disorders, the framework of collaborative care has been recommended, which showed improved outcomes in the primary care sector. Yet, an earlier literature review did not find sufficient evidence to draw robust conclusions on the cost-effectiveness of collaborative care. PURPOSE To systematically review studies on the cost-effectiveness of collaborati...

BACKGROUND Obesity runs in families, and family-based behavioral treatment (FBT) is associated with weight loss in overweight/obese children and their overweight/obese parents. This study was designed to estimate the costs and cost-effectiveness of FBT compared to separate group treatments of the overweight/obese parent and child (PC). METHODS Fifty overweight/obese 8- to 12-year-old children...

BACKGROUND To determine whether training community health workers (CHWs) about hypertension in order to improve adherence to medications is a cost-effective intervention among community members in South Africa. METHODS We used an established Markov model with age-varying probabilities of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events to assess the benefits and costs of using CHW home visits to increase ...

Acupuncture is increasingly used in patients with chronic pain, but there is a lack of evidence on the cost-benefit relationship of this treatment strategy. The objective of this study was to assess costs and cost-effectiveness of additional acupuncture treatment in patients with chronic neck pain compared to patients receiving routine care alone. A randomized controlled trial including patient...

BACKGROUND Collaborative care is an effective treatment for the management of depression but evidence on its cost-effectiveness in the UK is lacking. AIMS To assess the cost-effectiveness of collaborative care in a UK primary care setting. METHODS An economic evaluation alongside a multi-centre cluster randomised controlled trial comparing collaborative care with usual primary care for adul...