Economic evaluations of health interventions pose a particular challenge for reporting. There is also a need to consolidate and update existing guidelines and promote their use in a user friendly... Full Abstract  »

Rationale The effectiveness of varenicline for smoking cessation has been established, but little is known about the psychological processes that mediate this clinical outcome. Objectives This... Full Abstract  »

Economic evaluations of health interventions pose a particular challenge for reporting. There is also a need to consolidate and update existing guidelines and promote their use in a user friendly... Full Abstract  »

Introduction The increasing complexities of conducting multiregional trials and an evolving regulatory environment contribute to unprecedented new challenges for use of patient-reported outcome... Full Abstract  »

In experimental studies, statin use has been associated with reduction of osteoclastic activity and promotion of bone formation around implants. Moreover, a large clinical study recently reported a... Full Abstract  »

Background Several studies have reported that patients with influenza have a high risk of developing complications such as secondary infections, exacerbation of cardiovascular conditions and asthma.... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Several studies have reported that patients with influenza have a high risk of developing complications such as secondary infections, exacerbation of cardiovascular conditions and asthma.... Full Abstract  »

Economic evaluations of health interventions pose a particular challenge for reporting. There is also a need to consolidate and update existing guidelines and promote their use in a user friendly... Full Abstract  »

Economic evaluations of health interventions pose a particular challenge for reporting. There is also a need to consolidate and update existing guidelines and promote their use in a user friendly... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: Determine whether reimbursement restrictions recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) have impacted the United Kingdom (UK) National Health Service... Full Abstract  »

The primary objective of this study was to assess trends in employer expenditures for both direct medical costs and indirect productivity losses associated with influenza. A retrospective analysis... Full Abstract  »

This Review provides abstracts from a meeting held at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, on April 11–12, 2013, to celebrate the legacy of John Snow. They describe conventional and... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Decision-analytic modelling is often used to examine the economics associated with using a specific treatment. As a result, it is important to understand structural and... Full Abstract  »

The patient perspective or “patient voice” is critical for the optimization of decisions regarding treatment, as well as the accurate assessment of burden of illness and quality of care. For... Full Abstract  »

Background Cushing’s disease (CD) is a rare disorder of chronic hypercortisolism due to an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-secreting pituitary corticotroph adenoma. Because hypercortisolism... Full Abstract  »

Oral anticoagulant therapy is the mainstay of stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation; it is highly effective at reducing stroke risk, but its use can be limited by increased risk of... Full Abstract  »

Purpose Information on the risk of upper gastrointestinal complications (UGIC) in users of nimesulide, the most used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) in Italy, is scarce. In the context... Full Abstract  »

Economic evaluations of health interventions pose a particular challenge for reporting. There is also a need to consolidate and update existing guidelines and promote their use in a user friendly... Full Abstract  »

Economic evaluations of health interventions pose a particular challenge for reporting. There is also a need to consolidate and update existing guidelines and promote their use in a user friendly... Full Abstract  »

Economic evaluations of health interventions pose a particular challenge for reporting. There is also a need to consolidate and update existing guidelines and promote their use in a user-friendly... Full Abstract  »

Economic evaluations of health interventions pose a particular challenge for reporting. There is also a need to consolidate and update existing guidelines and promote their use in a user friendly... Full Abstract  »

Purpose When using claims data, dichotomous covariates (C) are often assumed to be absent unless a claim for the condition is observed. When available historical data differs among subjects,... Full Abstract  »

We propose using appropriate-use criteria (AUC) as the methodology of choice for formulating and disseminating evidence-based medicine guidelines in sports medicine and arthroscopy. AUC provide a... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: To quantify the natural decline in fecundability by age and assess the effect of selected volitional factors. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study of women attempting conception. SETTING: Not... Full Abstract  »

Typhoid fever causes millions of illnesses and hundreds of thousands of deaths yearly. Vaccinations would mitigate this problem, but the users would probably have to pay some or most of the cost.... Full Abstract  »

Objective: The objective of this study was to provide up-to-date estimates of the clinical and economic burden that occurs during inpatient treatment of cancer patients with febrile neutropenia (FN).... Full Abstract  »

Objective Assess association between adherence and persistence with second-generation oral antipsychotics (SGOAs), psychiatric-related relapse and healthcare utilization among patients with... Full Abstract  »

Almost every activity in health care or health care systems involves the evaluation of alternatives based on multiple criteria. At the regulatory level, policy makers evaluate alternatives to define... Full Abstract  »

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders and it is characterized by episodes of abdominal pain and altered bowel functions. The specific bowel disturbances... Full Abstract  »

Economic evaluations of health interventions pose a particular challenge for reporting. There is also a need to consolidate and update existing guidelines and promote their use in a user friendly... Full Abstract  »

Economic evaluations of health interventions pose a particular challenge for reporting. There is also a need to consolidate and update existing guidelines and promote their use in a user friendly... Full Abstract  »

Abstract Background Economic evaluations of health interventions pose a particular challenge for reporting because substantial information must be conveyed to allow scrutiny of study findings.... Full Abstract  »

Purpose The European Committee for Human Medicinal Products (CHMP) requested a multinational study with the aim to investigate the risk of acute liver failure (ALF) leading to registration for... Full Abstract  »

Objectives To assess patients’ preferences for rheumatoid-arthritis treatments with biologic agents using a discrete-choice experiment. Methods A discrete-choice experiment was conducted with adult... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: Depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) reversibly reduces bone mineral density. To estimate the extent to which DMPA might increase fracture risk, we undertook a retrospective cohort... Full Abstract  »

STUDY QUESTION Is there an association between oral contraceptive (OC) use (age at the start of use, duration of use, ethinylestradiol dose and generation) and time to pregnancy (TTP)? SUMMARY... Full Abstract  »

Aims Clinical trials have shown that anticoagulation with vitamin K antagonists (VKAs), e.g. warfarin, decreases the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF); however, increased... Full Abstract  »

Objective Recent economic and health policy changes may have affected the ability of chronically ill patients to afford their medications. We assessed changes in cost-related nonadherence to... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: To assess patient preferences for treatment-related benefits and risks associated with the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in the management of osteoarthritis (OA).... Full Abstract  »

The major objectives of this project were to develop and evaluate a brochure to help parents make an informed decision about participation in a fragile X newborn screening study. We used an... Full Abstract  »

Despite ezetimibe’s ability to reduce serum cholesterol levels, there are concerns over its vascular effects and whether it prevents or ameliorates atherosclerotic disease (AD). The aims of this... Full Abstract  »

Background Because follicular lymphoma (FL) patients have heterogeneous outcomes, the FL international prognostic index (FLIPI) was developed to risk-stratify patients and to predict survival.... Full Abstract  »

Purpose When medications are modified in response to changing clinical conditions, confounding by indication arises that cannot be controlled using traditional adjustment. Inverse probability of... Full Abstract  »

This study was a retrospective chart review performed to examine and describe physician practice patterns in managing attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) across Europe. Physicians... Full Abstract  »

Purpose Beryllium's classification as a carcinogen is based on limited human data that show inconsistent associations with lung cancer. Therefore, a thorough examination of those data is warranted.... Full Abstract  »

Objectives: The objective was to review the published literature on seasonal influenza to assess the differences between complications and mortality rates for those adults at high risk of influenza... Full Abstract  »

Objectives The aim of the study was to estimate population event rates for NSAID-associated ALFT Methods This was a case-population study of ALFT in 57 eligible liver transplant centres in seven... Full Abstract  »

Irritable bowel syndrome, one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders, is characterized by abdominal pain/discomfort and disturbances in bowel functions. Choosing the correct primary end point... Full Abstract  »

Objective: We assessed the net effect on risk of death for within-label use of acetaminophen and the two nonaspirin alternative oral non-prescription analgesics available in the U.S. (ibuprofen and... Full Abstract  »

Purpose The role of administrative databases for research on drug safety during pregnancy can be limited by their inaccurate assessment of the timing of exposure, as the gestational age at birth is... Full Abstract  »

Stated-preference methods are a class of evaluation techniques for studying the preferences of patients and other stakeholders. While these methods span a variety of techniques, conjoint-analysis... Full Abstract  »

Background: Health-technology assessment (HTA) plays an important role in informing drug-reimbursement decision-making in many countries. HTA processes for the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory... Full Abstract  »

Health and environmental economists have been employing Stated-Preference (SP) methods such as conjoint analysis or contingent valuation to estimate the monetary value of public health interventions... Full Abstract  »

Objectives To present a step-by-step example of the examination of heterogeneity within clinical trial data by using a growth mixture modeling (GMM) approach. Methods Secondary data from a... Full Abstract  »

Introduction and hypothesis We used a focus-group methodology to gather information about women’s knowledge and attitudes regarding research participation. Methods Two in-person focus groups at... Full Abstract  »

Objectives: The aim of this study was to estimate the relationship between the financial impact of a new drug and the recommendation for reimbursement by the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits... Full Abstract  »

Background Age is among the most important risk factors for neutropenia-related hospitalization, but evidence is limited regarding the relative contributions of age and other risk factors.... Full Abstract  »

Background Influenza illness in children causes significant clinical and economic burden. Although some European countries have adopted influenza immunisation policies for healthy children, the... Full Abstract  »

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a complex debilitating condition affecting more than 70 million people worldwide. With the increased prevalence in risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, and... Full Abstract  »

Background: The risk of upper gastrointestinal (GI) complications associated with the use of NSAIDs is a serious public health concern. The risk varies between individual NSAIDs; however, there is... Full Abstract  »

Objectives: The purpose was to quantify patient and parent preferences for administration attributes of immunoglobulin (IG) treatments; and determine which administration attributes were most... Full Abstract  »

Background: The aims of this study were to quantify and contrast patient preferences between second-line advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) medication profiles and their associated benefits and... Full Abstract  »

Background: Some patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection forego treatment due to concerns about treatment efficacy, treatment duration, and side effects. Objective: The purpose of... Full Abstract  »

The Osteosarcoma Surveillance Study, an ongoing 15-year surveillance study initiated in 2003, is a postmarketing commitment to the United States (US) Food and Drug Administration to evaluate a... Full Abstract  »

Background Adjusting for laboratory test results may result in better confounding control when added to administrative claims data in the study of treatment effects. However, missing values can... Full Abstract  »

Which proxy-reported outcome measures have been developed for use with children aged 6 years and younger to assess asthma symptoms, asthma control, and asthma-specific health-related quality of... Full Abstract  »

Prisons hold a disproportionate number of society’s drug abusers. Approximately 50% of state prisoners meet the criteria for a diagnosis of drug abuse or dependence; however, only 10% of prisoners... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: : To describe the health and economic burden experienced by caregivers of individuals with fragile X syndrome (FXS) and test the assumption that burden is associated with specific... Full Abstract  »

Objective This study compared all-cause and schizophrenia-related health care utilization and costs among patients with schizophrenia using second-generation oral antipsychotics (SGOAs) and... Full Abstract  »

Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between the use of monotherapy topiramate in pregnancy and cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) in the offspring.... Full Abstract  »

Canadian patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) in whom anticoagulation is appropriate have two new choices for anticoagulation for prevention of stroke and systemic embolism – dabigatran etexilate... Full Abstract  »

Purpose: This study assessed the direct economic burden of restless legs syndrome (RLS) among patients treated with dopamine agonists (DAs) using a large United States managed care database.... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: We sought to assess the feasibility of using a health insurance claims database to estimate the prevalence and health care utilization and costs among children diagnosed with systemic... Full Abstract  »

Benzene, a recognized occupational leukemogen in adults, has been hypothesized to also increase the risk of childhood leukemia. We carried out a population-based case–control study in a northern... Full Abstract  »

Clin Microbiol Infect ABSTRACT: Seasonal variation in occurrence is a common feature of many diseases, especially those of infectious origin. Studies of seasonal variation contribute to healthcare... Full Abstract  »

Purpose: Compliance with the Danish preconceptional folic acid (FA) recommendation – a daily supplement of 400 µg – is reported to be poor. Uncertainty remains, however, about the prevalence of... Full Abstract  »

Overall survival (OS) is the gold standard in measuring the treatment effect of new drug therapies for cancer. However, practical factors may preclude the collection of unconfounded OS data, and... Full Abstract  »

Hospital management and leadership systems are associated with organizational success and quality care. The Strategy and Leadership Systems Capability Evaluation (CE) survey was developed by GE... Full Abstract  »

Background: The Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) assesses acute and chronic knee injuries or early-onset osteoarthritis in young, active patients. The United States Food and Drug... Full Abstract  »

The 2007 US approval for use of Ann Arbor strain live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) in children aged 24 through 59 months included precautions against use in (1) children <24 months and... Full Abstract  »

Background Observational cohort study to assess the association between adherence to oral 5-aminosalicylates (5-ASAs) and all-cause costs and health care utilization among patients with active... Full Abstract  »

Comparative effectiveness studies of medical products outside of experimental research settings often derive from secondary data sources, such as insurance claims, that include data from many... Full Abstract  »

This cohort study of postmenopausal women in the United Kingdomaged ?50 years determined the incremental cost of health care and clinical outcomes in the 12 months following incident, selected... Full Abstract  »

Although vaccination against influenza is recommended for elderly and high-risk patients in many countries, efficacy in the elderly has been suboptimal. The MF59 adjuvanted trivalent inactivated... Full Abstract  »

Introduction: Common symptoms for children with Anderson-Fabry Disease (FD) such as acroparaesthesia and gastrointestinal manifestations can only be objectively assessed in patients using a valid... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND:: Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain syndrome that affects about 2% of the U.S. general population, with greater prevalence among women (3.5%) than men (0.5%). Previous research results... Full Abstract  »

Purpose Understand the choice of recall period for PRO measures based on intended use, characteristics of the disease, treatment, and attributes of studies. Methods Current practice and... Full Abstract  »

Over 5 billion people worldwide are exposed to unsafe water. Given the obstacles to ensuring sustainable improvements in water supply infrastructure and the unhygienic handling of water after... Full Abstract  »

This study examined the initiation and logistics, funding, perceived barriers and benefits, and disruption of school activities by school-located influenza vaccination (SLIV) programs conducted... Full Abstract  »

Purpose. To quantify the incidence of osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) by bisphosphonate exposure among two cohorts of patients. Methods. In a retrospective cohort study, we identified cohort members... Full Abstract  »

To understand the relative importance of the outcomes of add-on antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) and the willingness of patients with epilepsy to accept therapeutic trade?offs between seizure control and... Full Abstract  »

Objective. The office time required for primary care physicians (PCPs) to diagnose, treat and manage fibromyalgia (FM) patients can be extensive. The study objective was to determine if PCPs can... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the hypothesis that later start of stimulant treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder adversely affects academic progress in mathematics and language arts among... Full Abstract  »

Background A correctly specified propensity score (PS) estimated in a cohort (“cohort PS”) should, in expectation, remain valid in a subgroup population. Objective We sought to determine whether... Full Abstract  »

Background Eligibility for thrombolysis as an acute stroke treatment is determined through the use of unenhanced noncontrast computed tomography (CT), time since stroke onset, and patient history.... Full Abstract  »

The aim of this study is to quantify the burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – incidence, prevalence, and mortality – and identify trends in Australia, Canada, France, Germany,... Full Abstract  »

Background Oral or enteral dietary supplementation with arginine, omega 3 fatty acids and nucleotides (known as immunonutrition) significantly improve outcomes in patients undergoing elective surgery.... Full Abstract  »

Background: Treatment decisions for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are complex and require trade-offs between the benefits and risks experienced by patients. We evaluated the benefits... Full Abstract  »

Background Treatment decisions for advancednon-smallcelllungcancer (NSCLC) are complex and require trade-offs between the benefits and risks experienced by patients. We evaluated the benefits that... Full Abstract  »

Assigning biological functions to uncharacterized proteins is a fundamental problem in the postgenomic era. The increasing availability of large amounts of data on protein-protein interactions... Full Abstract  »

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had an annual budget of approximately $327 million to fund health departments and community-based organizations for core HIV testing and... Full Abstract  »

Reflecting drug use patterns and criminal justice policies throughout the 1990s and 2000s, prisons hold a disproportionate number of society's drug abusers. Approximately 50% of state prisoners meet... Full Abstract  »

The aim of this study is to categorize methods used to estimate the cost-effectiveness of vaccination programs using dynamic transmission models, and assess value to decision-makers. A targeted... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Oral anticoagulant (OA) medication is the recommended therapy for reducing the risk of thromboembolic complications in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), and warfarin is the... Full Abstract  »

Background: To estimate utility values for different levels of migraine pain severity from a United Kingdom (UK) sample of migraineurs. Methods: One hundred and six migraineurs completed the EQ-5D... Full Abstract  »

Propensity score calibration (PSC) can be used to adjust for unmeasured confounders using a cross- sectional validation study that lacks information on the disease outcome (Y), under a strong... Full Abstract  »

Objectives: To describe lipid management over time in a cohort of insured patients with diabetes and evaluate differences between African American and white patients. Study Design: Automated claims... Full Abstract  »

Background The role of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure as a risk factor for serious respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disease among infants and young children has not been clearly... Full Abstract  »

Women who are or may become pregnant need up-to-date information about Down syndrome (DS). Asking women about their knowledge, opinions, resources, and information needs on the topic of DS is an... Full Abstract  »

A previous study suggested an increased risk of preeclampsia among women treated with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Using population-based health-care utilization databases from... Full Abstract  »

Objective To investigate the association between leisure-time physical activity (PA) and fecundability. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Internet-based observational study of Danish women... Full Abstract  »

Objective In 2004, Willke and colleagues reviewed the efficacy endpoints reported in the labels of new drugs approved in the United States from 1997 through 2002 to evaluate the use of... Full Abstract  »

Abstract Objectives: Previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses of treatments in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) derived their findings from either placebo-controlled studies only... Full Abstract  »

Background: Many epidemiologic studies have evaluated the association between caffeine and fertility, with inconsistent results. Some studies suggest that various caffeine-containing beverages may... Full Abstract  »

Objectives: To examine whether rasagiline, a once-daily irreversible monoamine oxidase type-B inhibitor indicated for treatment of early Parkinson disease (PD), is a cost-effective fi rst-line... Full Abstract  »

Across the last forty years, epidemiology has developed into a vibrant scientific discipline that brings together the social and biological sciences, incorporating everything from statistics to the... Full Abstract  »

Objective To quantify the relative importance that UK physicians attach to the benefits and risks of current drugs when making treatment decisions for patients with osteoarthritis (OA). Methods... Full Abstract  »

PURPOSE: The validity of progression-free survival (PFS) as a surrogate endpoint for overall survival (OS) in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) trials has been studied, primarily in first-line... Full Abstract  »

Background Among the large number of cohort studies that employ propensity score matching, most match patients 1:1. Increasing the matching ratio is thought to improve precision but may come with a... Full Abstract  »

We conducted a review of patient medical records to assess treatment response patterns and prognostic indicators of response among chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients in the United States, the... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVES: Previous analyses of patient-reported outcome (PRO) label claims concentrated only on successful label claims. The goal of this research was to explore the reasons why PRO label claims... Full Abstract  »

Purpose: To characterize overall receipt and timeliness of radiation therapy (RT) following breast-conserving surgery among Medicaid-insured patients. Method: State cancer registry data linked with... Full Abstract  »

Background Thirteen-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) and 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) are two recently approved vaccines for the active immunization against... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the cost-effectiveness, from a Swedish societal perspective, of intermittent use of etanercept (Enbrel) with interruptions of use after 24 weeks compared to continuous use of... Full Abstract  »

Objective: To quantify physicians’ preferences among possible outcomes associated with chronic hepatitis B treatments and to determine which outcomes are most important to physicians in making... Full Abstract  »

Background - Breast-conserving therapy (BCT) is an accepted therapeutic option for most breast cancer patients. However, mastectomy is still performed in 30–50% of patients undergoing surgeries.... Full Abstract  »

Background The objective of this literature review was to determine whether crowding in the home is associated with an increased risk of severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disease in children... Full Abstract  »

The cognitive interview, with a focus on debriefing methods, was developed in the 1980s to identify sources of potential response error in surveys or questionnaires. With the release of the final US... Full Abstract  »

Objective.— To assess the psychometric properties of a new patient-reported migraine instrument, the Completeness of Response Survey (CORS), which measures a comprehensive set of factors important... Full Abstract  »

Scheduling elective surgeries is a dynamic, sequential decision-making process that must balance the costs of deferring waiting cases and blocking higher-priority cases. Although other surgery... Full Abstract  »

Purpose This analysis examined the effects of darbepoetin alfa on hemoglobin and fatigue outcomes in patients with cancer using latent growth curve modeling (LGM). Methods Data from 4 clinical... Full Abstract  »

Economic analyses of cholera immunization programs require estimates of the costs of cholera. The Diseases of the Most Impoverished program measured the public, provider, and patient costs of... Full Abstract  »

Objective: To better understand depression’s impact on family functioning from the perspectives of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and their partners; to develop and test patient and... Full Abstract  »

Objective To develop responder definitions for fibromyalgia (FM) clinical trials using key symptom and function domains. Methods Twenty-four candidate responder definitions were developed by expert... Full Abstract  »

Introduction: We aimed to quantify patients? and physicians' preferences for therapeutic trade-offs involving the efficacy, side-effect risks, and evidence uncertainty in chronic hepatitis B (CHB)... Full Abstract  »

We conducted a retrospective medical record review of 1,063 patients to examine patient characteristics and treatment patterns among adults with Philadelphia chromosome and/or BCR–ABL-positive... Full Abstract  »

Background Chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is a debilitating autoimmune disorder that causes a reduction in blood platelets and increased risk of bleeding. ITP is currently managed with... Full Abstract  »

Diagnostic systems are all around us. They are used in military science to detect threats of enemies, in meteorology to predict weather conditions, in civil engineering to reveal malfunctions in... Full Abstract  »

Purpose A lower daily pill burden may improve adherence to antiretroviral treatment (ART) and clinical outcomes in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This study assessed differences... Full Abstract  »

Background Decision makers in many jurisdictions use cost-effectiveness estimates as an aid for selecting interventions with an appropriate balance between health benefits and costs. This systematic... Full Abstract  »

We show here that the problem of maximizing a family of quantitative functions, encompassing both the modularity (Q-measure) and modularity density (D-measure). for community detection can be... Full Abstract  »

Background and objectives Many studies show that obesity in dialysis patients is not strongly associated with mortality but not whether this modest association is constant over age. This study... Full Abstract  »

The impact of fixed-dose combination (FDC) products on adherence to other, non-fixed regimen components has not been examined. We compared adherence to a third antiretroviral (ART) component among... Full Abstract  »

Objective: Despite serious safety concerns, antipsychotic medications continue to be used widely in US nursing homes. The objective of this study was to quantify the variation in antipsychotic... Full Abstract  »

The U.S. Department of the Interior (USDOI) desires a monetary measure of the benefits associated with a comprehensive restoration program for the Kalamth River Basin in Southern Oregon and Northern... Full Abstract  »

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a multifactorial condition with principal symptoms of pain and altered bowel function. The kappa-opioid agonist asimadoline is being evaluated in Phase III as a... Full Abstract  »

Objective: The aims of this report are to quantify and compare competing risks associated with the use of non-prescription analgesics (daily doses of acetaminophen ? 4000 mg, aspirin ? 4000 mg,... Full Abstract  »

Background - Seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) had profound public-health impacts and is considered cost-effective and potentially cost saving. Two new PCVs have been launched, a... Full Abstract  »

Objective: To assess the cost-effectiveness of etravirine (INTELENCE), a novel nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, used in combination with a background regimen that included... Full Abstract  »

Objective: Decision-makers in the US may be interested in the applicability to their populations of cost-effectiveness results generated from clinical trial populations. Methods: An economic model... Full Abstract  »

Background: Recent studies have shown that androgen displays an inhibitory effect on breast cancer cell lines that express androgen receptor (AR) but not estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone... Full Abstract  »

Background? Although the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) prescribing information contains warnings/precautions against use during pregnancy, administration of LAIV to pregnant women does... Full Abstract  »

Objective. Study objectives were to assess temporal trends and identify patient- and practice-level predictors of the prescription of antiplatelet medications in a national sample of ischemic stroke... Full Abstract  »

Objective This study updated a 2001 decision economic model that used indirect data and confirmed its findings by developing a new cost-effectiveness model by using now available head-to-head data.... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Inpatient stroke utilization may be decreasing over time and may vary by patient demographics. Less is known about temporal trends and demographic variations in outpatient stroke... Full Abstract  »

Scheduling elective surgeries involves sequential decision-making on the part of the operating room (OR) manager, who must continually balance the costs of deferring waiting cases and blocking... Full Abstract  »

Introduction: The objective of this study was to compare health-related quality of life (HRQoL) with degarelix (240 mg in month 1 and then 80 mg monthly, administered subcutaneously) or leuprolide (7.... Full Abstract  »

Recent theoretical studies have shown that conditioning on an instrumental variable (IV), a variable that is associated with exposure but not associated with outcome except through exposure, can... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Progression-free survival (PFS) was significantly longer for the lapatinib plus trastuzumab (L+T) arm than for L alone in a phase III, randomized, open-label study of women with human... Full Abstract  »

Abstract Aim: Compare first-line lapatinib plus letrozole (L + Let) versus letrozole monotherapy (Let) in hormone-receptor-positive HER2 + metastatic breast cancer, employing Q-TWiST... Full Abstract  »

Background - Asthma is an inflammatory condition often punctuated by episodic symptomatic worsening, and accordingly, patients with asthma might have waxing and waning adherence to controller therapy.... Full Abstract  »

This meta-analysis compares health care resource use costs, adherence, and persistence between groups of patients taking antihypertensives as single-pill combinations (SPCs) vs free-equivalent... Full Abstract  »

AIMS: To perform a quantitative systematic review of observational studies on the risk of stroke associated with the use of individual NSAIDs. METHODS AND RESULTS: Searches were conducted using the... Full Abstract  »

Earlier studies suggest a protective association between vitamin K antagonist (VKA) anticoagulants and the incidence of cancer. The authors examined the associations between VKA therapy and... Full Abstract  »

Objective: This meta-analysis compared efficacy (pain response) of drugs that are licensed or commonly used in the treatment of fibromyalgia. A meta-analysis of safety measured via discontinuation... Full Abstract  »

Background: Health information technology (HIT) has the potential to improve clinical outcomes, increase health provider productivity and reduce healthcare costs. Over half of all patient care is... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: To explore the utility of applying growth mixture models (GMMs) in secondary analyses of clinical trials to identify sources of variability in data reported by patients with COPD.... Full Abstract  »

Selective prescribing of conventional antipsychotic medication (APM) to frailer patients is thought to have led to overestimation of the association with mortality in pharmacoepidemiologic studies... Full Abstract  »

Objectives - To assess health care utilization and costs among patients experiencing invasive meningococcal disease (IMD)-related sequelae compared with IMD patients without sequelae. Study Design -... Full Abstract  »

Purpose - The objective of this study was to develop and validate a patient-reported outcome instrument to comprehensively assess the consequences of inadequate sleep for use in insomnia-related... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Panitumumab in combination with chemotherapy was evaluated in two pivotal clinical trials in first-and second-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), respectively. This... Full Abstract  »

Background: Angiogenesis inhibitor agents have been shown to be effective in increasing progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC); however, these treatments have... Full Abstract  »

Objective - To estimate the potential reduction of neural tube defects (NTDs) through the use of Metafolin-fortified oral contraceptives (OCs) in the United States. Study Design - A population-based... Full Abstract  »

A few recent studies report that preferences elicited from a two-alternative choice format are different from those elicited from a three-alternative choice format, when both choice set designs... Full Abstract  »

In recent years, comparative effectiveness research has been more aggressively pursued as a means to improve health care, including systematic reviews and meta-analyses to inform health policy... Full Abstract  »

We thank Strutton et al. for highlighting important issues for decision makers in their recent Letter to the Editor [1] and welcome the opportunity to clarify the methods we used to develop our... Full Abstract  »

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia, its prevalence increasing markedly with age. Atrial fibrillation is strongly associated with increased risk of morbidity, including... Full Abstract  »

Assessing change remains a challenge in patient-reported outcomes. In June 2009, a group of psychometricians, biostatisticians, and behavioral researchers from other disciplines convened as a... Full Abstract  »

Abstract Plaque psoriasis is associated with significant psychosocial, quality-of-life, and economic burden. The objective of this study was to quantify the value to patients of reducing the... Full Abstract  »

The accuracy of immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis on tissue microarray (TMA)-based studies largely depends on the uniformity of the staining pattern for a given antibody and minimal intratumor... Full Abstract  »

The authors examined the association between menstrual characteristics and time to pregnancy among 2,653 Danish women enrolled in a prospective cohort study (2007-2009). Menstrual characteristics... Full Abstract  »

Background: The REDUCE trial examined whether chemoprevention with the dual 5-alpha reductase inhibitor, dutasteride, reduced risk of prostate cancer (PCa) detection on biopsy. Objective: We... Full Abstract  »

Purpose Available patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) focus primarily on impairment (symptoms) and activities (functioning). The purpose of the... Full Abstract  »

Purpose The aim of this study is to develop and validate a brief instrument for the measurement of overall psychosocial impact of frequent heartburn (heartburn experienced 2+ times weekly) in the... Full Abstract  »

Background: Cases of lymphoma or cutaneous cancer have been observed following use of topical calcineurin inhibitors (TCIs), but it is unclear whether TCI use increases cancer risk. Objective: We... Full Abstract  »

Objective: A conceptual advantage exists for use of exenatide with insulin for glycemic control and mitigation of hypoglycemia and weight gain associated with insulin. We evaluated real-world use of... Full Abstract  »

Summary. To estimate patient preferences for attributes of hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment and patients' assessment of the likely effect of treatment attributes on treatment adherence, HCV... Full Abstract  »

Hooper [1] defends using P-values to answer the question, “do we think there is an effect at all.” But what advantage is there in viewing measurable phenomena as a dichotomy? The P-value’s role in... Full Abstract  »

Purpose: Elevated levels of phosphorus (P) and calcium (Ca) have been shown in observational studies to be associated with an increased risk of adverse clinical outcomes including mortality. Vitamin... Full Abstract  »

Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe gastroenteritis in infants and young children worldwide. Health-state utility measures used in economic evaluations of rotavirus vaccines do not reflect... Full Abstract  »

Objective: To evaluate the cost effectiveness of duloxetine when considered as an alternative treatment for patients in the United States (US) being treated for fibromyalgia pain. Research design... Full Abstract  »

Objective: Antioxidants are regulators of immune function and may play a role in upper respiratory tract infections (URTI). We investigated the potential effects of dietary intake from food and... Full Abstract  »

Purpose: To compare, in commercially-insured individuals ?40 years old, the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations and COPD-related health care utilization and costs in... Full Abstract  »

Should graphs of risk or rate ratios be plotted on a logarithmic scale? The conventional answer to this question seems to be yes ( 1), even to the extent that some have called on the International... Full Abstract  »

The 2007 US approval for use of live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) in children aged 24-59 months included precautions against use in (1) children <24 months and children aged 24-59 months with... Full Abstract  »

Objective To estimate the cost-effectiveness of once-daily tenofovir/emtricitabine compared with twice-daily zidovudine/lamivudine and once-daily abacavir/lamivudine in treatment-naïve adults with... Full Abstract  »

Objectives: This article provides a detailed understanding of the differences in selected formulary submission guidelines supplied by various health technology assessment (HTA) agencies and... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVES: OROS hydromorphone (osmotic extended-release oral delivery system [OROS] hydromorphone) is a long-acting opioid analgesic, which is approved in Europe for the management of severe pain.... Full Abstract  »

Objectives - The goal of this study was to provide recommended steps to assess measurement comparability using a crossover study design and to demonstrate these steps using a short patient-reported... Full Abstract  »

Summary The cost-effectiveness of Fracture Liaison Services (FLSs) for prevention of secondary fracture in osteoporosis patients in the United Kingdom (UK), and the cost associated with their... Full Abstract  »

About 530,000 women develop cervical cancer worldwide and 275,000 die from the disease each year. Eighty percent of these deaths occur in developing countries. In Vietnam, cervical cancer has... Full Abstract  »

Objectives To examine the risk of atrial fibrillation or flutter associated with use of non-selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or selective cyclo-oxygenase (COX) 2 inhibitors.... Full Abstract  »

Background: The association between use of nonselective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or cyclooxygenase-2-selective inhibitors (COX2Is) and risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE)... Full Abstract  »

Aims To report the persistence of glaucoma medical therapy in a database of 1006 patients with ocular hypertension (OHT), normal tension glaucoma (NTG) and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG)... Full Abstract  »

Individuals who are likely to realize the largest benefits from improvements in air quality often depend on other members of their households to make time or monetary contributions to their care.... Full Abstract  »

Purpose. To estimate the US prevalence of Peyronie's disease (PD) from patient-reported data and to identify diagnosis and treatment patterns. Methods. 11,420 US males ?18 years old completed a... Full Abstract  »

Background:Panitumumab+best supportive care (BSC) significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) vs BSC alone in patients with chemo-refractory wild-type KRAS metastatic colorectal cancer... Full Abstract  »

Background/Rationale: To determine the suitability of published estimates of the US cost of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) for use in cost-effectiveness models for new AD treatments. Methods: A systematic... Full Abstract  »

As part of the Safety of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (SOS) Project, we reviewed the incidence of cardiovascular (CV) and gastrointestinal (GI) events associated with the use of this... Full Abstract  »

Familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) is a rare genetic disease. Without treatment, FAP patients have a 100% lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer. This study was conducted to evaluate the... Full Abstract  »

Background The application of conjoint analysis (including discrete-choice experiments and other multiattribute stated-preference methods) in health has increased rapidly over the past decade. A... Full Abstract  »

It is common practice for developers of new health care technologies to engage in early dialogue with the major regulatory agencies; such discussions frequently center around the proposed clinical... Full Abstract  »

The success of a clinical trial rests on achieving clinical and statistical significance on the primary end point of the study. Therefore, proper selection of primary and key secondary end points is... Full Abstract  »

Purpose: To quantify gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) patients' preferences for reducing treatment toxicities and the likely effect of toxicities on patients' stated adherence. Methods:... Full Abstract  »

Background This large population-based study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of Dupuytren’s disease in US adults and describe associated treatment patterns. Methods A total of 23,103... Full Abstract  »

Background This large population-based study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of Dupuytren’s disease in US adults and describe associated treatment patterns. Methods A total of 23,103... Full Abstract  »

Purpose To examine the effect of variable selection strategies on the performance of propensity score (PS) methods in a study of statin initiation, mortality, and hip fracture assuming a true... Full Abstract  »

Background - Adhesions are fibrous bands of scar tissue, often a result of surgery, that form between internal organs and tissues, joining them together abnormally. Postoperative adhesions... Full Abstract  »

Objective: Chronic idiopathic constipation and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are common gastrointestinal conditions with potentially significant burden on managed care systems. Our objective was to... Full Abstract  »

This study applies conjoint analysis to estimate health-related benefit-risk tradeoffs in a non-expected-utility framework. We demonstrate how this method can be used to test for and estimate... Full Abstract  »

Objective: To monitor for a signal for major teratogenicity following in utero lamotrigine exposure. Methods: Health care providers reported lamotrigine exposure during pregnancy, and subsequent... Full Abstract  »

Background: Assessments of vaccination programmes should account for several important factors, including efficacy, safety and costs of preventing and treating the disease. Because patients with... Full Abstract  »

Objective: To describe the incidence and risk factors of venous thromboembolism in a large sample of critical care pediatric, adolescent, and young adult trauma patients. Data Source: The National... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of unidentified chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and determine the screening accuracy of the Lung Function Questionnaire (LFQ). PATIENTS AND... Full Abstract  »

When operating room schedules in hospitals are produced, the constraints and preferences of surgeons and hospital workers are a primary consideration. The downstream impact on post-operative bed... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Patients with a solid organ transplant (SOTs) and hematopoietic stem cell or bone marrow transplants (HSC/BMTs) are at risk of contracting invasive fungal infections (IFIs). Data on the... Full Abstract  »

Treatment preferences of haemophilia patients with inhibitors have not been well documented. This study sought to identify treatment attributes that patients/caregivers consider most important in... Full Abstract  »

Background The majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer undergo a multidisciplinary treatment with surgical intervention and radiotherapy or chemotherapy, or both. The importance of timing of... Full Abstract  »

Objective: To assess rates of diagnosis and antihyperglycemic dose adjustment in patients with moderate to end-stage renal impairment (RI) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: Retrospective... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND.: Cardiovascular disease is both a major threat to the life expectancy of kidney transplant recipients and an important determinant of late allograft loss. Obesity is an important risk... Full Abstract  »

PURPOSE: Beryllium is classified as carcinogenic on the basis largely of limited human data showing a modest increase in lung cancer from occupational exposure. With occupational exposure now... Full Abstract  »

Rationale? This review aims to examine economic evaluations of varenicline, to compare the reported cost-effectiveness of varenicline with that of treatments for major smoking-related diseases and... Full Abstract  »

Objectives: To compare health care utilization and associated costs among patients with and without invasive meningococcal disease (IMD)-related sequelae. Results: We identified 173 patients; 41%... Full Abstract  »

In recent years, the US FDA has become more critical of instruments used to measure patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in clinical trials. To facilitate decisions related to the approval of drugs,... Full Abstract  »

Background: Despite safety-related concerns, psychotropic medications are frequently prescribed to manage behavioural symptoms in older adults, particularly those with dementia. We assessed the... Full Abstract  »

The Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention (DHAP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has an annual budget of approximately +ACQ-325 million for funding HIV prevention programs in the U.S.... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND:: It is important to maintain high-quality cancer care while reducing spending. This requires an understanding of how stakeholders define 'quality.' The objective of this literature... Full Abstract  »

Objective: To generate community-based estimates of the public (paid by the government) and private (paid by households) costs of blood culture-confirmed typhoid fever in Hechi, China; North... Full Abstract  »

This study systematically collated clinical evidence on refractory generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Refractory GAD patients are those who have failed to respond adequately to at least one earlier... Full Abstract  »

Willingness-to-pay (WTP) estimates derived from discrete-choice experiments (DCEs) generally assume that the marginal utility of income is constant. This assumption is consistent with theoretical... Full Abstract  »

While laboratory and clinical benefits of hydroxyurea for patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) are well-established, few data describe the extent and implications of non-adherence. We sought to... Full Abstract  »

Summary. Little is known about the relative importance of factor VIII (FVIII) treatment attributes to haemophilia A patients and their willingness to accept trade-offs among these attributes. To... Full Abstract  »

Objective: To examine the percentage of patients treated with antiplatelet or anticoagulant therapy among patients with stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) in the long-term care... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVES: : To assess the impact of HAART use on AIDS-defining Kaposi's sarcoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) among adults with AIDS. DESIGN: : Registry linkage study. METHODS: : Adults diagnosed... Full Abstract  »

Background Aspirin reduces myocardial infarction but increases gastrointestinal tract (GI) bleeding. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) may reduce upper GI bleeding. We estimate the cost-utility of... Full Abstract  »

Objective To compare the relative ability of patient self-assessments and clinician assessments of functional limitations for predicting hospitalizations for older adults with left ventricular... Full Abstract  »

The BRAT Framework is a set of flexible processes and tools that provides a structured approach to pharmaceutical benefit-risk decision making in drug development and post approval settings. A work... Full Abstract  »

Approximately 50% of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 treated with peginterferon alfa-2a/ribavirin discontinue treatment early or experience a suboptimal response despite 48 weeks of... Full Abstract  »

GOALS AND BACKGROUND: To estimate all-cause and disease-related resource utilization and costs among managed care enrollees with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV). STUDY: A large United States claims... Full Abstract  »

PURPOSE: Panitumumab monotherapy is approved for chemotherapy-refractory wild-type KRAS metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Patient-reported outcomes-although important in the palliative... Full Abstract  »

We examined rates of first hospitalization for COPD, rates of 5-year mortality among patients hospitalized for COPD, and comparisons of mortality between COPD patients and a matched cohort free of... Full Abstract  »

Dabigatran etexilate (DE) is a novel oral anticoagulant indicated for the prevention of venous thromboembolism in patients undergoing total hip or total knee replacement surgery. The majority of... Full Abstract  »

Purpose: Upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) is the most common reason for seeking primary care in many countries. Still, little is known about potential strategies to reduce susceptibility. We... Full Abstract  »

Background: The choice of endpoints is crucial for proper evaluation of agents in clinical trials of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). In a recently published draft guidance for IBS from the United... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic blacks have higher stroke recurrence rates and lower rates of secondary stroke prevention than non-Hispanic whites. As a potential explanation for this... Full Abstract  »

This article uses the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccination program experience to introduce a cost analysis approach that may be relevant for planning mass prophylaxis operations, such as vaccination... Full Abstract  »

We sought to determine if an association exists between age and capecitabine efficacy among patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Pooled analysis of five phase II or III registration trials... Full Abstract  »

The combined costs of acute hospitalization and post-discharge follow-up care in patients with meningococcal disease have not been widely documented. In this study, data were retrospectively... Full Abstract  »

Background: In some women, uterine fibroids are associated with severe, disabling symptoms. There is a lack of high-quality evidence supporting the effectiveness of most interventions for... Full Abstract  »

Background +ACY- objectives : Measuring maternal mortality in developing countries poses a major challenge. In Nepal, vital registration is extremely deficient. Currently available methods to... Full Abstract  »

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Folic acid (FA) added to foods during fortification is 70-85+ACU- bioavailable compared to 50+ACU- of folate occurring naturally in foods. Thus, if FA supplements also are... Full Abstract  »

Internet communication is developing. Social networking sites enable patients to publish and receive communications very easily. Many stakeholders, including patients, are using these media to find... Full Abstract  »

Emergency department waiting time (EDWT), the time from arrival at the ED to evaluation by an emergency physician, is a critical component of acute stroke care. We assessed racial/ethnic differences... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incremental cost of healthcare and clinical outcomes in the 12 months following incident hip fractures among postmenopausal women in the UK. METHODS: Retrospective cohort... Full Abstract  »

Darunavir boosted by low-dose ritonavir (DRV/r), at a daily dose of 600/100 mg twice a day (bid), has been shown to be superior to alternative highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimens... Full Abstract  »

INTRODUCTION: Darunavir is a new protease inhibitor (PI) that is co-administered with low-dose ritonavir and has demonstrated substantial efficacy in clinical trials of highly treatment-experienced... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: A key element for payers in the assessment of the economic profile of a medication is its anticipated impact on the evolution of healthcare budgets. OBJECTIVES: To forecast the impact of... Full Abstract  »

INTRODUCTION: The phase III TITAN trial evaluated the use of darunavir with low-dose ritonavir (DRV/r) 600/100 mg twice daily (bid) compared with lopinavir with low-dose ritonavir (LPV/r) in... Full Abstract  »

The expression of basal cytokeratin markers CK5/6 in breast carcinomas has been associated with high histological grade and poor clinical outcome. A previous study has shown that CK5/6 can be... Full Abstract  »

Patients receiving therapy for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection frequently experience cytopenias and weight loss. We retrospectively assessed the pharmacodynamic effects of pegylated... Full Abstract  »

Patients receiving therapy for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection frequently experience cytopenias and weight loss We retrospectively assessed the pharmacodynamic effects of pegylated... Full Abstract  »

Despite the increased popularity of conjoint analysis in health outcomes research, little is known about what specific methods are being used for the design and reporting of these studies. This... Full Abstract  »

Background: Sigmoidoscopy/colonoscopy is usually performed prior to enrollment into clinical trials of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Two main reasons are to rule out alternative diagnoses and to... Full Abstract  »

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: This retrospective database analysis used data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project's Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) to examine common primary diagnoses among... Full Abstract  »

Background The Patient-Reported Indices for Multiple Sclerosis (PRIMUS) comprises a suite of three scales for assessing symptoms, activity limitations, and quality of life in multiple sclerosis (MS).... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: This analysis assessed rates of medication adherence and predictors of nonadherence and hospitalization among patients treated with long-acting injectable and oral antipsychotic therapies.... Full Abstract  »

Background: Many patient-reported outcomes (PRO) instruments are scored by averaging or summing Likert category values over all items or domains of the elicitation instrument, yielding... Full Abstract  »

Background: A community in northern Italy was previously reported to have an excess incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis among residents exposed to high levels of inorganic selenium in their... Full Abstract  »

Patients with atrial fibrillation at moderate to high risk of stroke are not always anticoagulated despite a lack of contraindications to vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) like warfarin. These patients... Full Abstract  »

Purpose: The Lung Function Questionnaire (LFQ) was developed and validated as a case-finding tool to identify patients at risk of airflow obstruction (AO) that should be evaluated further using... Full Abstract  »

This paper estimated the clinical impact of routine vaccination of infants with a new 10-valent pneumococcal nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae protein D conjugate vaccine (PHiD-CV) compared with... Full Abstract  »

Cohort and population models estimate vaccine impact on disease events, and yield different estimates in countries with different demographic compositions. We compared administration of the new... Full Abstract  »

This study estimated the impact of routine vaccination of infants with a new 10-valent pneumococcal nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae protein D conjugate vaccine (PHiD-CV) on health outcomes and... Full Abstract  »

This paper estimates the annual direct medical and caregiver costs of Streptococcus pneumoniae (Sp) and nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi)-associated diseases in children younger than 10... Full Abstract  »

The membrane of most gastrointestinal smooth muscles shows slow waves, slow rhythmic changes in membrane potential. Slow waves serve to bring the membrane potential of smooth muscle cells to a... Full Abstract  »

Among the 77 infiltrating breast carcinomas, we found that progesterone receptor (PR) expression was inversely associated with recurrence score (RS, p < .0001). RS is also significantly associated... Full Abstract  »

Background? Velusetrag is an orally active 5-HT4 receptor agonist of potential benefit in treating chronic idiopathic constipation. Aim? To evaluate the efficacy, safety and tolerability of... Full Abstract  »

Background: Abacavir sulfate (abacavir) is associated with a hypersensitivity reaction (HSR) that affects 5-8% of patients. While serious complications are rare, failure to identify it, or abacavir... Full Abstract  »

A cross-sectional, Internet-based survey was conducted in a nationally representative sample of United States (US) adults to estimate the point prevalence of chronic pain and to describe... Full Abstract  »

Frailty, a poorly measured confounder in older patients, can promote treatment in some situations and discourage it in others. This can create unmeasured confounding and lead to nonuniform treatment... Full Abstract  »

Introduction A family history of later-onset breast cancer (FHLBC) may suggest multi-factorial inheritance of breast cancer risk, including unhealthy lifestyle behaviors that may be shared within... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Crohn's disease is a serious and debilitating gastrointestinal disorder with a high, unmet need for new treatments. Biologic agents have the potential to alter the natural course of... Full Abstract  »

Importance of the field: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) represents one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders, with the diarrhea-predominant form (D-IBS) representing an area of high unmet... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Improved selection of patients with stroke for IV tPA treatment may enhance clinical outcomes. Given the limited availability of MR imaging in hospitals, we examined the... Full Abstract  »

Patients with chronic hepatitis C with partial virologic response or nonresponse to interferon-based therapies can experience treatment-related improvements in liver histology. This retrospective... Full Abstract  »

Background - The PRIMUS is a Multiple Sclerosis (MS)-specific suite of outcome measures including assessments of QoL (PRIMUS QoL, scored 0-22) and activity limitations (PRIMUS Activities, scored... Full Abstract  »

PURPOSE: Pharmacokinetic interactions have been demonstrated in enzyme-inducing antiepileptic drugs (EIAEDs) and statins; however, their clinical significance is not well established. The purpose of... Full Abstract  »

This second edition of Measuring Nonuse Damages Using Conjoint Valuation is essentially a reprint of a 1992 monograph that has been in steady demand since its original appearance. The RTI Press... Full Abstract  »

Background— Medication nonadherence is common and results in preventable disease complications. This study assessed the effectiveness of a multifactorial intervention to improve both medication... Full Abstract  »

Abstract Background: Tiotropium has been shown to reduce exacerbations and improve quality of life for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a lung disease characterized by a... Full Abstract  »

Objective is to examine the effect of epidural analgesia in first stage of labor on occurrence of cesarean and operative vaginal deliveries in nulliparous women and multiparous women without a... Full Abstract  »

Using data from the 2001-2002, 2003-2004, and 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, we generated current estimates of the prevalence and overlap of cardiovascular... Full Abstract  »

The article discusses results from the clinical trial EGF30008 that studied the combination of letrozole plus lapatinib in metastatic breast cancer treatment. The content of this article has been... Full Abstract  »

PURPOSE: Limited information from spontaneous reports and results of two case-control studies raised concern about the cardiotoxicity of oral domperidone therapy. This case-control study nested in a... Full Abstract  »

Purpose Limited information from spontaneous reports and results of two case-control studies raised concern about the cardiotoxicity of oral domperidone therapy. This case-control study nested in a... Full Abstract  »

Objective To identify Alzheimer's disease (AD) severity measures for use in cost-effectiveness models that effectively capture the impact of AD on costs. Methods A review of the literature and... Full Abstract  »

To develop and psychometrically evaluate the Endometriosis Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire, a patient-reported assessment of satisfaction with endometriosis treatment. The Endometriosis... Full Abstract  »

Aim: To examine changes in patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) on oral agents who initiated insulin (insulin lispro mix 25/75 [LM25] or insulin glargine)... Full Abstract  »

We evaluated the psychometric properties of the London Measure of Unplanned Pregnancy among Indian women using classical methods and Item Response Modeling. The scale exhibited good internal... Full Abstract  »

Objective To estimate the prevalence of uncontrolled asthma in pediatric patients with asthma visiting their primary care provider for any medical reason. Study design This was a cross-sectional... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE Weight loss in patients with type 2 diabetes can improve glycemic control, lower blood pressure, and improve dyslipidemia. Glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) receptor agonists are associated... Full Abstract  »

Background The objective of this study was to develop and validate a daily electronic Endometriosis Pain and Bleeding Diary (EPBD) for assessing treatment-related changes in endometriosis symptoms... Full Abstract  »

Objective To evaluate and quantify the economic benefits attributable to improvements in water supply and sanitation in rural India. Methods We combined propensity-score “pre-matching” and rich... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Although 5-alpha reductase inhibitors (5ARIs) have demonstrated that they reduce the risk of prostate cancer (PCa), they have not demonstrated cost effectiveness in the patient... Full Abstract  »

PURPOSE: Our objective was to estimate preference-based weights for the IWQOL-Lite that reflect the relative importance overweight and obese people place on the domains included in the instrument.... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the incremental effect of waist circumference (WC) on health-care costs among overweight and obese subjects after adjusting for body mass index (BMI). METHODS: A prospective... Full Abstract  »

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether mining can serve as a pathway for economic development despite the environmental externalities. The extensive literature on the... Full Abstract  »

Background: Effective management of allergic rhinitis requires ongoing monitoring of its control. This article describes the qualitative phase of development of a patient-completed instrument, the... Full Abstract  »

Background: The Food and Drug Administration, currently, is exploring quantitative benefit–risk methods to support regulatory decision-making. A scientifically valid method for assessing patients'... Full Abstract  »

Objective: The purpose of this study was to document real-world treatment patterns, medication adherence, and the impact of adherence on disease-specific and all-cause health-care costs among... Full Abstract  »

Background Previous studies have suggested that the incidence of retinopathy is lower in preterm infants with exposure to reduced levels of oxygenation than in those exposed to higher levels of... Full Abstract  »

The attraction of being able to use the internet for the recruitment of an epidemiologic cohort stems mainly from cost efficiency and convenience. The pregnancy planning study ('Snart-Gravid')-a... Full Abstract  »

Objectives HLA-B*5701 is a major histocompatibility complex class I allele associated with an immunologically-mediated hypersensitivity reaction to abacavir. The objectives of this study were to... Full Abstract  »

Purpose: A comprehensive study comparing the costs and efficacies of darunavir/ritonavir 800/100 mg qd and the other ritonavir-boosted (/r) protease inhibitors (PIs) recommended for treatment-naive... Full Abstract  »

Objective: EGF103009 (ClinicalTrials. gov identifier: NCT00105950) was a phase 2, open-label, multicenter study that showed lapatinib monotherapy to be clinically active in women with relapsed or... Full Abstract  »

The Preference and Satisfaction Questionnaire (PSQ) compares patient preference and satisfaction between a 6-month subcutaneous injection and weekly oral tablet for treatment of bone loss. Patients... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Current asthma guidelines recommend the use of long-acting beta-agonists (LABAs) in combination with inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) for long-term control and prevention of symptoms in... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Opioid-induced constipation is a common adverse event in patients with advanced illness and has a significant negative impact on patients' quality of life and costs. AIM: To examine the... Full Abstract  »

Background. Despite the availability of effective asthma treatments and evidence-based management guidelines focusing on asthma control, many patients have asthma that is inadequately controlled.... Full Abstract  »

Sexual dysfunction is a common but often unrecognized side effect of many antidepressants. Building upon the results of a previous investigation, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and impact... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: In a phase 3 randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, first-line therapy with lapatinib plus paclitaxel significantly improved clinical outcomes based on a... Full Abstract  »

We estimated the prevalence of medication nonadherence in Parkinson's disease (PD) and the association between treatment nonadherence and healthcare costs. Insurance claims from over 30 US health... Full Abstract  »

Purpose: The main objective of this study was to compare the opioid use patterns, resource utilization, and costs of patients on opioid therapy who have constipation with those who do not. Design:... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) primarily is a disorder of adults characterized by autoantibody-induced platelet destruction and reduced platelet production, leading to a low... Full Abstract  »

Objective: The objective of this survey was to assess adult primary care physicians' and pediatricians' perceptions of asthma exacerbation management, including beliefs concerning the discharge of... Full Abstract  »

This paper develops a graphical analysis and an analytical model that demonstrate how weak substitution can be used for non-market valuation. Weak complementarity and weak substitution represent... Full Abstract  »

Objectives: Persistently impaired psychosocial functioning has been recognized in many individuals with bipolar disorder. However, existing measures of functional disability have been adapted for... Full Abstract  »

Oral dabigatran etexilate is indicated for the prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients undergoing total knee replacement or total hip replacement. We investigated the... Full Abstract  »

A choice-format, conjoint-analysis survey was developed and fielded to estimate how features of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines affect mothers' perceived benefit and stated vaccine uptake for... Full Abstract  »

Researchers usually employ orthogonal arrays or D-optimal designs with little or no attribute overlap in stated-choice surveys. The challenge is to balance statistical efficiency and respondent... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Fast-acting medications for the management of anxiety are important to patients and society. Measuring early onset, however, requires a sensitive and clinically responsive tool. This... Full Abstract  »

Responses of inattentive or inconsistent subjects in stated-choice (SC) surveys can lead to imprecise or biased estimates. Several SC studies have investigated inconsistency and most of these... Full Abstract  »

Background: Patient preferences can affect colorectal cancer (CRC) screening test use. We compared utility-based preferences for alternative CRC screening tests from a stated-preference... Full Abstract  »

The mannose-6-phosphate/insulin-like growth factor 2 receptor (M6P/IGF2R) encodes a protein that plays a critical role in tumor suppression, in part by modulating bioavailability of a potent... Full Abstract  »

AIMS: To examine whether A1c, blood pressure, and cholesterol values changed for U.S. adults with diagnosed diabetes between 1988-1994 and 2005-2006. We then project the impact of these changes on... Full Abstract  »

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To estimate the risk of upper gastrointestinal complications associated with use of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) selective (celecoxib and rofecoxib) and individual nonselective... Full Abstract  »

Macromolecular nucleic acids such as DNA vaccines, siRNA, and splice-site switching oligomers (SSO) have vast chemotherapeutic potential. Nanoparticulate biomaterials hold promise for DNA and RNA... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) with oseltamivir (Tamiflu) has been shown to be effective and is approved in children exposed to a case of influenza in a household setting. Given limited... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) with oseltamivir (Tamiflu) has been shown to be effective and is approved in children exposed to a case of influenza in a household setting. Given limited... Full Abstract  »

Objective: This study's objective was to review the literature on the epidemiological and economic burden and treatment of chronic low back pain (CLBP) in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.... Full Abstract  »

This prospective time-and-motion study quantified total time and costs of intravenous administration of zoledronic acid in 68 patients with bone metastases secondary to breast (n = 42) or prostate... Full Abstract  »

The introduction of prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing as a screening tool has transformed the clinical landscape of prostate cancer. Screening allows prostate cancer to be diagnosed many years... Full Abstract  »

Objectives: We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of a low-cost cholera vaccine licensed and used in Vietnam, using recently collected data from four developing countries where cholera is endemic. Our... Full Abstract  »

As survival of transplant recipients improves, long-term complications become more important. We reviewed epidemiologic literature on real-world risks of de novo neoplasia post-transplant. We... Full Abstract  »

The safety of mobile telephones is a pressing question, now that the brains of nearly half the humans on the planet have become exposed within a short span of time to a physical agent to which their... Full Abstract  »

Patterns of opioid use, resource utilization, and costs in cancer patients with and without constipation were compared using retrospective insurance claims data. Inclusion criteria were > =30 days... Full Abstract  »

Sustainable and equitable access to safe water and adequate sanitation are widely acknowledged as vital, yet neglected, development goals. Water supply and sanitation (WSS) policies are justified... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of a sanitation campaign that combines “shaming” (i.e. emotional motivators) with subsidies for poor households in rural Orissa, an Indian state with a... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Disturbed sleep is commonly reported in fibromyalgia (FM). Both the Sleep Quality Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) and the Medical Outcomes Study Sleep Scale (MOS-Sleep) have demonstrated... Full Abstract  »

Subjects with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) enrolled in an online panel were asked to evaluate pairs of treatment alternatives with different attributes. Half of the sample saw a cheap-talk text.... Full Abstract  »

Disease-modifying drugs are a significant expenditure for treating multiple sclerosis. Natalizumab (NZ) has been shown to be effective in reducing relapses and disease progression. However,... Full Abstract  »

Background: Disease-modifying drugs are a significant expenditure for treating multiple sclerosis. Natalizumab (NZ) has been shown to be effective in reducing relapses and disease progression.... Full Abstract  »

Communication and marketing are growing areas of health research, but relatively few rigorous efficacy studies have been conducted in these fields. In this article, we review recent health... Full Abstract  »

The quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) has become the dominant measure of health value in health technology assessment in recent decades despite some well-known and fundamental flaws in the... Full Abstract  »

Objective: There is consensus that a more transparent, explicit, and rigorous approach to benefit–risk evaluation is required. The objective of this study is to evaluate the incremental net benefit... Full Abstract  »

The pathogenesis of prion diseases is related to conformational transformation of cellular prion protein (PrPC) into a toxic, infectious, and self-replicating conformer termed PrPSc. Following... Full Abstract  »

Objective To assess the worldwide availability of misoprostol. Documenting the extent of misoprostol use in obstetrics-gynecology is difficult because the drug typically is unregistered for such... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Better selection of patients for intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (IV tPA) treatment may improve clinical outcomes. We examined the cost-effectiveness of... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: To identify predictors of attempts to stop smoking and predictors of relapse. METHODS: This study included 2431 smokers from pre-existing Internet panels in the United States, United... Full Abstract  »

Objective: The objective was to describe the healthcare and information-seeking behavior of women with self-reported sexual problems and accompanying sexually related personal distress identified... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to estimate the willingness of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients to accept life-threatening adverse event risks in exchange for improvements in their MS related... Full Abstract  »

AIMS: Medication non-adherence is particularly common in patients with Type 2 diabetes. We constructed a discrete-choice experiment to examine the relative importance of oral glucose-lowering... Full Abstract  »

The clinical, humanistic and economic consequences associated with haemophilia and inhibitors are considerable. Primary treatment for mild-to-moderate bleeding disorders in such patients is... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate oral cancer screening by visual inspection. METHODS: A cluster randomized controlled trial was initiated in Trivandrum district, Kerala, India. Of 13 population clusters,... Full Abstract  »

PURPOSE: The cost-effectiveness of treating influenzalike illness (ILI) with oseltamivir in the United States was assessed. METHODS: A decision-analysis model was developed with a one-year time... Full Abstract  »

Background Physical inactivity is a major driver of costly health problems, especially in older adults. Structured walking programs are one approach for increasing physical activity, although there... Full Abstract  »

Objectives: To investigate the effect of prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dichlorodiphenyl-dichloroethylene (DDE) on weight, height and body mass index (BMI) in adult female... Full Abstract  »

The Onset-of-Effect Questionnaire (OEQ) is a self-administered instrument used to assess patient perception of how quickly asthma maintenance medications begin to work. This study was designed to... Full Abstract  »

A remarriage typically involves significant changes in a family's financial circumstance, and these changes, combined with the relative bargaining relationship between spouses, likely affect the... Full Abstract  »

Background Home care/hospice nurses may be at elevated risk of blood exposure because of the nature of their work and work environment. However, little is known about the incidence of blood exposure... Full Abstract  »

The pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is thought to be related to the accumulation of amyloid ? (A?) in amyloid deposits and toxic oligomeric species. Immunomodulation is emerging as an... Full Abstract  »

The 'old' familiar diseases of cholera and typhoid remain a serious health threat in many developing countries. Health policy analysis often argue that vaccination confers positive economic... Full Abstract  »

Abstract Objective: Cost-effectiveness analyses of new treatments for cardiovascular disease frequently require input parameters whose values are known with uncertainty due to limited data. The... Full Abstract  »

Understanding patient-specific differences in risk tolerance for new treatments that offer improved efficacy can assist in making difficult regulatory and clinical decisions for new treatments that... Full Abstract  »

While African Americans in the United States are disproportionately affected by HIV, they are less likely to take antiretroviral therapies. Different first-line antiretroviral therapies are... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: We examine the lifetime cost-effectiveness of treatment with fluticasone propionate/salmeterol (500/50 microg) compared with no maintenance treatment in COPD in the US. METHODS: A... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE—To develop and test a patient questionnaire on treatment satisfaction with diabetes regimens. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Survey items were developed from community clinic focus groups,... Full Abstract  »

While the clinical implications of advanced melanoma have been extensively documented, little is known about the direct medical costs associated with the disease, particularly for elderly patients... Full Abstract  »

Objective: This was an evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of oral dabigatran etexilate compared with subcutaneous low-molecular-weight heparin (enoxaparin) for the prevention of venous... Full Abstract  »

Dabigatran etexilate has been investigated in three phase III trials for the prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Health technology assessment agencies increasingly require meta-analyses of... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the spectrum of clinical outcomes achieved with depression treatment and the associated impact on quality of life (QOL), functional status, overall well-being, health-care... Full Abstract  »

Alzheimer disease (AD) is a progressive, ultimately fatal neurodegenerative illness affecting millions of patients, families, and caregivers. Effective disease-modifying therapies for AD are... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVES: We wished to determine whether a pre-existing diagnosis of breast cancer or the use of tamoxifen among patients with pre-existing breast cancer influences the histologic type of... Full Abstract  »

INTRODUCTION: The primary treatment for mild-to-moderate bleeding disorders in hemophilia is either recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) or activated prothrombin complex concentrate (aPCC). The... Full Abstract  »

Background: Crofelemer improves bowel function in several conditions characterized by states of prominent secretory diarrhea. Aim: This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial evaluated... Full Abstract  »

Over 22,000 cases of ovarian cancer were diagnosed in 2007 in the United States, but only a fraction of them can be attributed to mutations in highly penetrant genes such as BRCA1. To determine... Full Abstract  »

The burden of typhoid fever remains high in impoverished settings, and increasing antibiotic resistance is making treatment costly. One strategy for reducing the typhoid morbidity and mortality is... Full Abstract  »

The relationship between overall survival (OS) and disease progression end points has been demonstrated in colorectal, colon, and non-small cell lung cancers. We assessed the association between OS... Full Abstract  »

Prion diseases such as scrapie involve the accumulation of disease-specific prion protein, PrPSc, in the brain. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a family of proteins that recognize microbial... Full Abstract  »

The objective of this study was to assess specific areas of life in which obesity affects individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and changes that obese persons with T2DM experience with... Full Abstract  »

Context The COMBINE (Combined Pharmacotherapies and Behavioral Intervention) clinical trial recently evaluated the efficacy of medications, behavioral therapies, and their combinations for the... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVES: In the last two decades, there has been considerable evolution of methods for cost-effectiveness modelling. Some of the first models were developed in the area of venous thromboembolism... Full Abstract  »

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common gastrointestinal disorder characterized by abdominal pain and altered bowel function. Few agents are available for the treatment of IBS. Historically, one... Full Abstract  »

Purpose To assess the relative incidence of peptic ulcer bleeding and perforation (PUBP) in users of selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors and nonselective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory... Full Abstract  »

Stated-choice (SC) surveys, such as conjoint analysis, present some interesting problems for researchers that are not addressed in the traditional survey-development literature. While the... Full Abstract  »

The addition of lapatinib (Tykerb/Tyverb) to capecitabine (Xeloda) delays disease progression more effectively than capecitabine monotherapy in women with previously treated HER2+ metastatic breast... Full Abstract  »

Background and objectives: In 2003, the National Kidney Foundation introduced guidelines for the control of parathyroid hormone, calcium, and phosphorus in hemodialysis patients. Design, setting,... Full Abstract  »

After renal transplantation, immunosuppressive regimens associated with high short-term survival rates are not necessarily associated with high long-term survival rates, suggesting that regimens may... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: To explore the extent to which clinical characteristics influence the association between cyclooxygenase 2 inhibitors (coxibs) and/or nonselective nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs... Full Abstract  »

Body mass index (BMI) has various deficiencies as a measure of obesity, especially when the BMI measure is based on self-reported height and weight. BMI is an indirect measure of body fat compared... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Case definitions are essential to epidemiological research. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate ICD-9 codes 410 and 411 to identify cases of acute coronary syndromes (ACS), and the clinical... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: In models of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), asimadoline, a kappa-opioid agonist, improves pain and abnormal bowel function. AIM: To evaluate the effects of three doses of asimadoline... Full Abstract  »

With its 2006–2011 National Malaria Strategic Plan, Zambia committed to control malaria at a national scale. This scale-up for impact approach was facilitated by sound business planning and... Full Abstract  »

Background: Restless legs syndrome (RLS) affects approximately 10-15% of the general population and has deleterious effects on sleep and subsequent daytime performance. The disorder may also give... Full Abstract  »

Background? Gastrointestinal side effects are commonly associated with opioid treatment for pain. Aim? To understand gastrointestinal side effects associated with opioid treatment. Methods? This... Full Abstract  »

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies can be transmitted by blood transfusion. The risk of spreading the disease among the human population could be mitigated with the implementation of a blood... Full Abstract  »

Ovarian cancer is most frequently diagnosed in postmenopausal women; however, the strongest risk predictors, pregnancy and oral contraceptive use, occur in most women in their twenties and thirties.... Full Abstract  »

Performing economic evaluations of established health care programs is essential to identify and control for underlying program-level variations and to make valid comparisons. At a time when the... Full Abstract  »

We examine snowmobile use conflict in Yellowstone National Park to assess the effect of different winter management policies on heterogeneous visitors’ welfare. Using a stated preference choice... Full Abstract  »

Purpose: To estimate the rate of new-onset seizure in ADHD patients in relation to ADHD pharmacotherapy. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of 34,727 patients, ages 6 to 17, with at least two... Full Abstract  »

Background The General Practice Research Database (GPRD) has been used to identify associations between pregnancy medication exposures and birth defects, but experts have argued that databases such... Full Abstract  »

Introduction In 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) started a 3-year colorectal cancer screening demonstration project and funded five programs to explore the feasibility of a... Full Abstract  »

This study explored whether reactions to the Cancer Genetics Network (CGN) or CGN enrollment differed by receipt of a standard informational brochure versus a targeted version addressing factors... Full Abstract  »

The intrinsic period of circadian clocks is their defining adaptive property. To identify the biochemical mechanisms whereby casein kinase1 (CK1) determines circadian period in mammals, we created... Full Abstract  »

This paper addresses some of the issues facing new product development in the medical device sector and reviews some of the financial decision-making methods currently used to aid in project... Full Abstract  »

Oral bromelain has been anecdotally reported to decrease inflammation in ulcerative colitis (UC). Proteolytically active bromelain is known to decrease expression of mRNAs encoding pro-inflammatory... Full Abstract  »

Previous studies have shown that cost of illness (COI) measures are lower than the conceptually correct willingness-to-pay (WTP) measure of the economic benefits of disease prevention. We compare... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to determine whether cyclin E overexpression defines an etiologically distinct subgroup of ovarian cancer. METHODS: We analyzed data from 538 epithelial... Full Abstract  »

Purpose: This study assessed the extent of refill nonadherence with antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) and the potential association between AED nonadherence and health care costs in an adult-managed care... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Using data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project 2004 Nationwide Inpatient Sample, we estimated inpatient resource utilization among patients with hematologic malignancies,... Full Abstract  »

PURPOSE: To estimate the cost effectiveness of TAC (docetaxel, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide) compared with FAC (fluorouracil, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide) when administered as adjuvant... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND. The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) was established by the U.S. Congress in 1990. In recent years, there has been an emphasis on ascertaining the... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this analysis was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of duloxetine when considered as an additional treatment option for UK-based patients suffering from diabetic... Full Abstract  »

Pharmacotherapy has been reasonably effective in treating positive symptoms associated with schizophrenia and less effective in treating negative symptoms. Humanistic outcomes - quality of life and... Full Abstract  »

With a number of advantages, lower partial moments (LPM) serve as alternatives to variance as measures of portfolio risk. For two specific targets, a separation property holds in the context of... Full Abstract  »

Background Confounding-by-indication is a bias in nonexperimental studies that occurs when outcomes are compared for treated and untreated patients and the treatment or medication dose is related to... Full Abstract  »

The thoroughly revised and updated Third Edition of the acclaimed Modern Epidemiology reflects both the conceptual development of this evolving science and the increasingly focal role that... Full Abstract  »

Purpose To evaluate the value of a registry, set in real-life practice, as a contribution to evidence-based medicine and to estimate the impact of information collected in such a registry, on the... Full Abstract  »

Purpose To validate ICD 9 codes with a high positive predictive value (PPV) for incident strokes. The study population consisted of Tennessee Medicaid enrollees aged from 50 to 84 years. Methods... Full Abstract  »

Purpose. The comparative cost-effectiveness of voriconazole and amphotericin B in the treatment of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) was examined. Methods. A decision-tree model was... Full Abstract  »

Aims The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to estimate the time to insulin initiation in patients with Type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled on oral glucose-lowering agents (OGLAs).... Full Abstract  »

Outbreaks of infectious animal diseases represent a major threat to agriculture and can impose significant social and economic costs. The potential for devastating epidemics, such as the recent... Full Abstract  »

Objective: The Menopause Symptoms Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire, an eight-item questionnaire with a 4-week recall period, was developed to assess women's satisfaction with treatment for... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVES: A population-based study was used to describe healthcare seeking behavior for menopausal symptoms and treatment among women 40-65 years old in the United States. METHODS: Participants... Full Abstract  »

Purpose: To understand and quantify the logistics (ie, acquisition, utilization, storage, distribution, maintenance, repair) of intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV PCA) pumps and... Full Abstract  »

Purpose We evaluated the responsiveness and treatment sensitivity of the Erection Quality Scale, and provided further psychometric validation of this scale. Materials and Methods An 8-week,... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the cost-effectiveness of screening overweight and obese persons for prediabetes and then modifying their lifestyle based on the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). Research... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: The optimal adjuvant therapy for women with stages III and IV endometrial cancer following surgical staging and cytoreductive surgery is controversial. We sought to determine the outcome... Full Abstract  »

Purpose Many pharmacoepidemiologic studies use automated prescription claims data to estimate the association between exposure and disease. One limitation of automated data, when studying drugs... Full Abstract  »

Given the initiatives to improve resource allocation decisions for HIV prevention activities, a linear programming model was designed specifically for use by state and local decision-makers. A pilot... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Regulatory assessments of drug risks do not routinely consider patient preferences, despite evidence that some patients are willing to accept increased side-effect risk in... Full Abstract  »

AIMS: The objective of this study was to describe the proportion and characteristics of patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes diagnosed with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) in France, Italy,... Full Abstract  »

Purpose: Men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) from benign prostatic hyperplasia often do not discuss their symptoms with their primary care physicians (PCPs). The primary objectives of this... Full Abstract  »

Abstract: Background. Voriconazole, a broad-spectrum triazole, has demonstrated significantly improved survival compared with conventional amphotericin B (CAB) as initial therapy for invasive... Full Abstract  »

Background: Evidence that long-term hormone therapy (HT) may increase the risk of serious adverse events led to a sharp reduction in all HT use, including short-term use for vasomotor symptom relief.... Full Abstract  »

Recent outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Asia, Europe, and Africa have caused severe impacts on the poultry sector through bird mortality and culling, as well as resulting trade... Full Abstract  »

The purpose of this study was to evaluate hospital resource utilization associated with intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV-PCA), with a focus on nursing, pharmacy, and central... Full Abstract  »

Though published in 1981, the footnote on the first page of ‘The Rise and Fall of Epidemiology’1 indicates that it was a preprint of a talk ‘to be presented December 10, 2004, at the annual meeting... Full Abstract  »

Background: Data on the incidence of serious allergic reactions to fluoroquinolone antibacterials are mainly derived from spontaneous reports that cannot be used to accurately estimate incidence.... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in the US, and its prevalence continues to increase. Despite the availability of effective asthma controller medications, many patients... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Medication nonadherence is high among patients with bipolar disorder, and may lead to poor clinical outcomes, decreased quality of life, and increased resource utilization.... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: The optimal management of patients with stage I uterine papillary serous carcinoma (UPSC) is unclear. We sought to determine whether outcomes of women with surgical stage I UPSC differ... Full Abstract  »

PURPOSE: To estimate the rate of new-onset afebrile provoked and unprovoked seizure in a general pediatric population and subgroups of patients with and without psychiatric diagnoses other than... Full Abstract  »

INTRODUCTION: A few epidemiological studies suggested an increased coronary heart disease (CHD) risk with high doses of oral corticosteroids. METHODS: We performed a cohort study with nested... Full Abstract  »

Confounding can be a major source of bias in nonexperimental research. The authors recently introduced propensity score calibration (PSC), which combines propensity scores and regression calibration... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Item response theory (IRT) is increasingly being applied to health-related quality of life instrument development and refinement. This article discusses results obtained using... Full Abstract  »

The choice of primary endpoint for a clinical trial is one of the most important determinants of the ability of a clinical trial to demonstrate efficacy of therapeutic agents. Although there are... Full Abstract  »

Purpose - To evaluate whether the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) differs among adult diabetic patients treated with thiazolidinediones (TZDs) and similar patients treated with combined oral... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Before the introduction of the immunomodulatory therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS), treatment options for MS consisted of symptomatic management (physical therapy and pharmacological... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE. The objective of this study was to examine the relation of factors that are present at birth to subsequent hospitalization for childhood pneumococcal disease. METHODS. We conducted a... Full Abstract  »

PURPOSE: To estimate the net cardiovascular (CV) (coronary heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure), and gastrointestinal (GI) (peptic ulcer complications) risk-benefit public health impact... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: This article assesses the ability of the economic outcome measures in the Economic Form 90 to detect differences across levels of alcohol dependence as measured by the Alcohol Dependence... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: Postterm delivery is a risk factor for perinatal complications, some of which increase risk for neurologic morbidity. We aimed to examine the association between postterm delivery and... Full Abstract  »

Abstract: Background: Although the prevalence of trauma in the United States is high, data on the economic burden of this public health problem to third-party payors is limited. Methods:... Full Abstract  »

New products are crucial for the growth and prosperity of any company, especially in the rapidly changing medical device market. Companies must innovate to be successful but this invariably carries... Full Abstract  »

INTRODUCTION: Androgens may play a role in the development of ovarian cancers. Two trinucleotide repeat polymorphisms have been described in exon 1 of the androgen receptor (AR) gene that may affect... Full Abstract  »

We conducted a study to examine the relation of asthma and its treatment to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). We identified cohorts of members with and without asthma from January 1996 though June... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: We sought to estimate the effect of screening and brief intervention (SBI) for risky alcohol use on the health care utilization of risky drinkers in 4 managed care organizations. RESEARCH... Full Abstract  »

Background The cost-effectiveness of aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular events in women is unclear. We sought to perform a cost-utility analysis to address this issue. Methods We... Full Abstract  »

We examine the effect of giving respondents time to think about their stated choices (SC) in a survey of cholera and typhoid vaccine preferences in Hue, Vietnam. Because neither vaccine is widely... Full Abstract  »

Objective: To compare the risk of suicide in adults using the antidepressant venlafaxine compared with citalopram, fluoxetine, and dothiepin. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: UK... Full Abstract  »

The present study examined the impact of once-daily fexofenadine hydrochloride (HCl) 180 mg on health-related quality of life (HRQL) in subjects with chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU). This was a... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: The clinical significance and optimal management of patients with stage IIIA endometrial cancer are controversial. We sought to determine whether recurrence and survival of patients with... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Alosetron was reintroduced for treatment of irritable bowel syndrome with a risk management programme in November 2002. Recommended starting dosage was 1 mg/day for 4 weeks. If symptoms... Full Abstract  »

Written by an international team of outstanding editors and contributors, Pharmacovigilance, 2nd Edition is the definitive text on this important subject. The new edition has been completely... Full Abstract  »

Objectives: This study examined the behavioral impact of toothache pain as well as self-care strategies for pain relief among minority and low-income individuals. Methods: Eight focus group... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVES: Economic analysis is an important component in formulating national policy. We evaluated the economic impact of hepatitis A vaccination of all US children ages 12 to 23 months as... Full Abstract  »

Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is the third most common cause of hospital-acquired acute renal failure. Three is increasing evidnce that CIN has a significant adverse impact on patient... Full Abstract  »

Background: The short stature homeobox-containing gene, SHOX, located on the distal ends of the X and Y chromosomes, encodes a homeodomain transcription factor responsible for a significant... Full Abstract  »

Background and purpose To explore aspects of restless legs syndrome (RLS) associated with detrimental impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Patients and methods The RLS... Full Abstract  »

Treating patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) using recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIla) has been found to improve survival and functional outcome. To examine how the introduction of... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: The Medical Outcomes Study-Sleep Scale (MOS-SS) is a commonly used self-reported instrument for assessing key constructs of sleep quality and quantity. Even though the MOS-SS has... Full Abstract  »

Reactions with,in, oronwater? Despite claims to the contrary, few examples of truly aqueous organocatalysis have been reported. Close examination of the data from recent reports reveals that these... Full Abstract  »

Therapeutic risk management is required to ensure that the benefits of a particular drug outweigh the risks in general practice. Current risk management strategies and handling of risk management... Full Abstract  »

We carried out a cost-effectiveness evaluation of transdermal fentanyl compared to three other widely used opioids: transdermal buprenorphine, sustained-release morphine, and controlled-release... Full Abstract  »

Background/Aims: The effect of inflammatory skin diseases on pregnancy has been incompletely characterized. We sought to estimate the incidence of pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes among women with... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: COX-2 and NSAIDS differ in their gastrointestinal (GI) and cardiovascular (CV) toxicity from pharmacological, clinical and epidemiologic point of views. OBJECTIVE: Describe the patterns... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is among the most costly and debilitating forms of stroke. Results from a recent Phase IIb clinical trial demonstrate that administration of... Full Abstract  »

Objectives: To estimate the risk of a first hospital admission for heart failure (HF) associated with the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Methods: Cohort study with a nested... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: Using data from a case-control study of endometrial cancer, we investigated the relationship between the progestin and estrogen potency in combination oral contraceptives (OCs) and the... Full Abstract  »

Observational analogs of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) are well accepted in the study of disease risk factors, diagnosis, and prognosis. There is controversy about observational studies when the... Full Abstract  »

PURPOSE: Both propensity score (PS) matching and inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) allow causal contrasts, albeit different ones. In the presence of effect-measure modification,... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the literature describing the impact of uterine fibroids on health-related quality of life (HRQOL), the measures used to assess HRQOL, and related areas for future research.... Full Abstract  »

Summary Background In November 2002, alosetron HCl (Lotronex, GlaxoSmithKline Research Triangle Park, NC, USA) was re-introduced to the US marketplace for women with severe diarrhoea-predominant... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: Studies in Western populations have shown the association of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB). The role of Helicobacter pylori... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVES: The principal aim of this study was to illustrate applying discrete-choice methods for eliciting preferences for technology adoption criteria, including threshold values for... Full Abstract  »

Objective: The relationship between postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT) and cerebrovascular disease has been examined in several epidemiological studies and clinical trials with conflicting results.... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Case descriptions suggest IBS patients are more likely to have other disorders, including migraine, fibromyalgia, and depression. We sought to examine the prevalence of these conditions... Full Abstract  »

AIMS: The ATTEMPT study was designed to chart the natural history of smoking cessation and associated short-term health outcomes and effects on medical resource utilization among a cohort recruited... Full Abstract  »

Introduction: Gastrointestinal (GI) side-effects occur frequently as a result of immunosuppressant regimens used in renal transplant patients. Little effort has been made to quantify the impact of... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: To assess use and channeling of cyclooxygenase 2 selective inhibitors (coxibs) over time and to estimate the percentage of coxib users with cardiovascular contraindications. METHODS: The... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Hepatic adverse events associated with the use of nonaspirin drugs and NSAIDs are uncommon, but the widespread use of these drugs may impact public health. OBJECTIVE: We conducted a... Full Abstract  »

Pharmacovigilance science has traditionally been a discipline focussed on the postmarketing or post-authorisation period, with due attention directed towards pre-clinical safety data, clinical... Full Abstract  »

Individuals can reduce their exposure to air pollution by reducing the amount of time they spend outdoors. Reducing outdoor time is an example of an averting behavior that should be measured as part... Full Abstract  »

Many economists argue that willingness-to-pay (WTP) measures are most appropriate for assessing the welfare effects of health changes. Nevertheless, the health evaluation literature is still... Full Abstract  »

The molecular etiology of epithelial ovarian cancer remains unclear. Using microarray expression analysis, we recently reported that expression of the insulin-like growth factor binding protein–2... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether pelvic lymph node count is associated with patterns of recurrence or survival in patients with FIGO stage I and II endometrial cancer. METHODS: Single institution... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE—The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) lifestyle intervention is a cost-effective strategy to prevent type 2 diabetes, but it is unclear how this intervention could be financed. We explored... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Doctor visits for irritable bowel syndrome are associated with high medical costs. Predictors of medical consultation for irritable bowel syndrome remain poorly understood. AIM: To... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to estimate how much at-risk individuals are willing to pay for type 2 diabetes primary prevention programs. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: An Internet-based,... Full Abstract  »

Despite the growing popularity of propensity score (PS) methods in epidemiology, relatively little has been written in the epidemiologic literature about the problem of variable selection for PS... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: Propensity score (PS) analyses attempt to control for confounding in nonexperimental studies by adjusting for the likelihood that a given patient is exposed. Such analyses have been... Full Abstract  »

There are very few studies that quantify the interactions and tradeoffs between statistical and cognitive efficiency in designing stated-choice studies. While a conceptual framework for evaluating... Full Abstract  »

Purpose To estimate the prevalence of glucose metabolism abnormalities, including diabetes, and its associated cardiovascular risk factors and co-morbidity in the US elderly population. Methods... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the return on US investment (ROI) in overall health as well as four specific conditions. METHODS: The study utilized three distinct approaches to "triangulate" the evidence as... Full Abstract  »

Assessing the cost effectiveness of a new health intervention often requires modelling to estimate the impact of the intervention on cost, survival and quality of life over the lifetime of a cohort... Full Abstract  »

The success of a clinical trial is judged by achieving statistical and clinical significance on the primary endpoint. This is particularly relevant in those trials that are initiated to achieve... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Aspirin and statins are both effective for primary prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD), but their combined use has not been well studied. OBJECTIVE: To perform a cost-utility... Full Abstract  »

Objective: To compare a linear scoring rule with the subjective importance of different domain and symptom levels of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life... Full Abstract  »

Objective: To identify optimal first-line therapies based on the rate of virologic success (VS) and the preservation of future treatment options in antiretroviral therapy (ART)-naive subjects.... Full Abstract  »

Whether non-aspirin non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) affect the risk of myocardial infarction is unclear. Also, it is unknown whether the effect varies by individual NSAIDs. To... Full Abstract  »

Objectives: It is postulated that patients with different cancer diagnoses, stages of disease and treatments will exhibit different individual preferences for health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL)... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Research has shown that lack of treatment adherence is a serious problem, especially among patients with psychiatric disorders. The current study was conducted to assess adherence and... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: A depressed Apgar score at 5 minutes is a marker for perinatal insults, including neurologic damage. We examined the association between 5-minute Apgar score and the risk of epilepsy... Full Abstract  »

In most mammalian cells, regulatory volume decrease (RVD) is mediated by swelling-activated Cl(-) and K(+) channels. Previous studies in the human neuroblastoma cell line CHP-100 have demonstrated... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: Sexual dysfunction is a common side effect of antidepressant treatment, but recognition of the problem is variable. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and impact of... Full Abstract  »

Along the Texas-Mexico border, the prevalence of neural tube defects (NTDs) among Mexican-American women doubled during 1990-1991. The human outbreak began during the same crop year as epizootics... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Previous epidemiologic research suggests that analgesic use may reduce the risk of ovarian cancer, although results are not consistent. METHODS: In a population-based, case-control... Full Abstract  »

We investigated whether maternal breast cancer affects birth outcome in a nationwide cohort study of 695 births from 1973 to 2002 of women with breast cancer with respect to preterm birth, low birth... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: Emerging clinical evidence suggests that gastroesophageal reflux disease is associated with pulmonary allograft dysfunction. In this study, we used a model of rat lung transplantation to... Full Abstract  »

In a study of 182 undergraduates, a substantial proportion of the students in this sample reported significant symptoms of depression, yet only a minute number of them had ever sought treatment for... Full Abstract  »

Abstract Men migrating to the United States from Mexico and Central America confront opposing family norms. They need to leave their families to gain family economic security; yet, leaving renders... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether associations between anti-secondhand smoke (SHS) media, social cognitions about SHS, and home restrictions on smoking follow patterns observed in smoking behavior.... Full Abstract  »

Bacterial infections are important complications in patients with haematological malignancies. We compared the outcome of bacteraemia among elderly and younger patients with haematological... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: As there is no biological marker for irritable bowel syndrome, a diagnosis is made using symptom-based criteria. AIM: To evaluate the stability of self-reported symptoms consistent with... Full Abstract  »

The psychometric properties of the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), a widely used measure of pain and its impact on functioning, were assessed using data from two clinical trials of controlled-release... Full Abstract  »

Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), a mycophenolic acid prodrug, is a highly effective adjunct immunosuppressive agent in transplant therapy. Although MMF is generally well tolerated, optimal therapy may... Full Abstract  »

This investigation focused on the relation between college student drinking behavior and study skills, behaviors, habits, and attitudes among undergraduate students at a predominantly African... Full Abstract  »

From a practical perspective, (arguably) most consumer decisions are not made in isolation of the households in which consumers are inserted, yet we commonly treat them econometrically as if they... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Use of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) is standard practice for preventing postoperative venous thromboembolism (VTE). Ximelagatran is a new direct thrombin inhibitor for this... Full Abstract  »

Objective. Surgical staging of endometrial cancer identifies those patients with microscopic metastatic disease most likely to benefit from adjuvant therapy and may also confer therapeutic benefit.... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: To conduct a meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies to derive a pooled estimate of the association between asthma and cancer incidence and between allergy and cancer incidence. DATA... Full Abstract  »

Background: Irritable bowel syndrome is a common gastrointestinal disorder, and its prevalence and demographics have been evaluated by different methodologies with varying results. Aim: To evaluate... Full Abstract  »

PURPOSE: To evaluate the impact of a state-of-the-art Quit and Win contest on tobacco quit rates at 3, 6, and 12 months after the 30-day quit period. DESIGN: Quasi-experimental with a volunteer... Full Abstract  »

Several studies have examined the benefits and costs of drug treatment; however, they have typically focused on the benefits and costs of a single treatment episode. Although beneficial for certain... Full Abstract  »

Haemophilia is a rare, inherited blood disorder in which blood clotting is impaired such that patients suffer from excessive internal and external bleeding. At present there is no cure for... Full Abstract  »

Introduction There has been dramatic improvement in survival for patients with HIV/AIDS; however, some studies on patients with HIV/AIDS and serious illness have reported continued low rates of... Full Abstract  »

Successful treatment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) can have substantial implications. As rates of antibiotic resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae--the most common pathogen of CAP-increase,... Full Abstract  »

Previous studies of anthropometric factors and ovarian cancer risk have been inconsistent and none have evaluated the association among African–American women. Data from a population-based,... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: To present a summary of published estimates of the economic burden of uterine fibroids in the United States and identify areas for additional research. METHODS: A search of three... Full Abstract  »

INTRODUCTION: Improved glycemic control reduces the risk of long-term diabetes complications (1–3). However, subcutaneous insulin injections represent a barrier to achieving "optimal" blood glucose... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVES: Cohort studies indicate that starting highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) when the CD4+ T-cell count is less than 200 cells/muL is associated with poor outcomes. These studies... Full Abstract  »

Objective: To examine sexual function in a cohort of Baby Boomer women of diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds; to compare differences between pre-and early perimenopausal women; and to identify... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: This article describes the methodology used in estimating the mean cost per patient of the interventions delivered in COMBINE, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing... Full Abstract  »

Objective The objective of this study was to determine if use of menopausal hormones was associated with ovarian cancer and if risk varied by type of hormone used. Study design Data from a... Full Abstract  »

Acute respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-induced bronchiolitis is often associated with continuing respiratory symptoms following hospitalization. To date, there is no validated objective measure to... Full Abstract  »

PURPOSE: Selective lymphadenectomy is widely accepted in the management of endometrial cancer. Purported benefits are individualization of adjuvant therapy based on extent of disease and resection... Full Abstract  »

Background: Results from a phase III study of postmenopausal women with advanced breast cancer demonstrated longer time to disease progression for patients taking letrozole versus tamoxifen. This... Full Abstract  »

A budget impact analysis for a new pharmaceutical product provides estimates of the likely impact of the new drug on a healthcare decision makers short- and longer-term annual budgets. Budget... Full Abstract  »

PURPOSE: Evaluation of disease-related symptom improvement rate by the Lung Cancer Subscale (LCS) of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Lung (FACT-L) questionnaire was a coprimary end point... Full Abstract  »

Objectives It has been suggested that the 6A allele of the type I TGF? receptor (TGF?R1) polyalanine repeat tract polymorphism may increase susceptibility to various types of cancer including... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Estimates of risk of Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) associated with some antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) have used denominators based on the number of... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: It has been hypothesized that antidepressants may enhance cancer growth. Previous studies of antidepressant use and ovarian cancer have been inconsistent and have been limited in their... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: To compare levels of persistency with 2 cholinesterase (ChE) inhibitors-rivastigmine and donepezil for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) through the use of administrative claims... Full Abstract  »

We assessed the reliability, validity, and responsiveness to change of the 6-item Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast Symptom Index (FBSI) in a sample of 615 metastatic breast cancer... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVES: To establish the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for depressive illness, schizophrenia, catatonia and mania. DATA SOURCES: Electronic... Full Abstract  »

Forest policies and management increasingly rely on economic models to explain behaviors of landowners and to project forest outputs, inventories and land use. However, it is unclear whether the... Full Abstract  »

Objective: To report the frequency of major malformations in lamotrigine-exposed pregnancies from September1, 1992, through March 31, 2004, in the International Lamotrigine Pregnancy Registry.... Full Abstract  »

Background: Most epidemiological studies evaluating the association between nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and acute renal failure (ARF) found an increased risk for developing ARF... Full Abstract  »

Background: Metabolic abnormalities are common in HIV-infected individuals and, although multifactorial in origin, have been strongly associated with antiretroviral therapy. Methods: Using... Full Abstract  »

Abstract: Prophylaxis-based antiviral treatment and intensive monitoring followed by pre-emptive antiviral treatment are both commonly used management strategies to reduce risk of cytomegalovirus... Full Abstract  »

Objective: The objective of this study was to conduct an economic evaluation of voriconazole compared with conventional amphotericin B deoxycholate (CAB) using data from a recently reported... Full Abstract  »

The pricing of medicines has become one of the most hotly debated topics of recent times, with the pharmaceutical industry seemingly being attacked from all quarters. From a company perspective,... Full Abstract  »

As measures of portfolio risk, Lower Partial Moments (LPMs) have several advantages over variance, the traditional measure of risk. A separation theorem can be proven in the context of mean-LPM... Full Abstract  »

Little is known about optimal application and behavior of exposure propensity scores (EPS) in small studies. In a cohort of 103,133 elderly Medicaid beneficiaries in New Jersey, the effect of... Full Abstract  »

ISOQOL is pleased to offer a volume of invited papers from the recent Symposium “Stating the Art: Advancing Outcomes Research Methodology and Clinical Applications,” which captures the... Full Abstract  »

Concepts of cause and causal inference are largely self-taught from early learning experiences. A model of causation that describes causes in terms of sufficient causes and their component causes... Full Abstract  »

This paper investigates two complementary pieces of data on households' demand for improved water services, coping costs and willingness to pay (WTP), from a survey of 1500 randomly sampled... Full Abstract  »

Purpose: Dextofisopam is a non-serotonergic agent thought to modulate autonomic function via a novel hypothalamic receptor, resulting in decreased stimulated autonomic activity. We explored the... Full Abstract  »

Background: We apply currently published clinical outcomes data to length of stay and hospital cost to determine the potential economic benefit associated with the use of specialized nutritional... Full Abstract  »

Objectives To study the relationship between exposure to protease inhibitor (PI) therapy and increased risk of cardiovascular events in HIV-infected patients. Methods We estimated the risk of... Full Abstract  »

Background Epidemiological studies indicate that occupational hand eczema (OHE) often is associated with persistent dermatitis and prolonged sick leave, which may lead to unemployment. Previous... Full Abstract  »

Aims To assess the extent to which the increased risk of congenital abnormalities seen in women with pre-gestational insulin-treated diabetes mellitus is unspecific or related to the embryology of... Full Abstract  »

Seasonal variation in the occurrence of cerebrovascular disease has been reported, but data about subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) are few and inconclusive. We conducted a nationwide population-based... Full Abstract  »

Background: The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) demonstrated that interventions can delay or prevent the development of type 2 diabetes. Objective: To estimate the lifetime cost-utility of the DPP... Full Abstract  »

Objective: To examine nonvertebral fracture risk in relation to inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) exposure among adults with respiratory disease. Design and patients: Nested case-control study within... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether serologic testing for herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) in pregnant women and their partners is cost-effective. STUDY DESIGN: A... Full Abstract  »

The glutamate-gated chloride channels (GluCls) are members of the ligand-gated ion channel superfamily that are thought to be involved in the mode of action of ivermectin and mechanism of resistance.... Full Abstract  »

Objective: The progestagenic milieu of pregnancy and oral contraceptive use is protective against epithelial ovarian cancer. A functional single nucleotide polymorphism in the promoter of the... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: To determine severe sepsis (SS) incidence, hospital mortality, 1-year mortality, and costs associated with care in a sample of enrollees in a nationally representative individual practice... Full Abstract  »

Biological studies were conducted on (3R)-7-Hydroxy-N-{(1S)-1-{[(3R,4R)-4-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-3,4-dimethyl-1-pi peridinyl]methyl}-2-methylpropyl}-1,2,3,.4-tetrahydro-3-isoquinoline-car boxamide... Full Abstract  »

This study measures the monetary value households place on preventing malaria in Tigray, Ethiopia. We estimate a household demand function for a hypothetical malaria vaccine and compute the value of... Full Abstract  »

Background: The third Adult Treatment Panel (ATP III) of the National Cholesterol Education Program defines clinical criteria for diagnosis of the metabolic syndrome, which increases cardiovascular... Full Abstract  »

Objective: Although highly active antiretroviral therapy has been shown to lower plasma HIV-1 RNA in HIV infection, many patients do not reach the target goal of undetectable viremia. We... Full Abstract  »

Background. In a two-group quasi-experimental study, we evaluated the impact of a quit and win contest on quitting among low-income tobacco users and identified contest elements used by successful... Full Abstract  »

Introduction Infection is an important complication in cancer patients, which frequently leads to or prolongs hospitalization, and can also lead to acute organ dysfunction (severe sepsis) and... Full Abstract  »

Because depressed patients commonly experience reductions in motivation and energy, both as symptoms of their disorder and as side effects of pharmacotherapy, it is important to identify... Full Abstract  »

Recent changes in the regulatory environment have called attention to the need for and potential benefits of greater and more detailed evidence to inform decisions based on the risk-benefit... Full Abstract  »

Since 1999, two Cooperia oncophora isolates, originally obtained from the United Kingdom, have been maintained by regular passage through calves at the Macdonald Campus, McGill University farm. One... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVES: The Erection Quality Scale (EQS) is a new, self-report measure for assessing the quality of penile erections. It is intended to complement existing diagnostic and outcome measures... Full Abstract  »

Background: Lower enrolment of minorities into research studies has been reported frequently. Most studies have little information about nonparticipants, making it difficult to identify... Full Abstract  »

Purpose: We provide a comprehensive, longitudinal assessment of health related quality of life (HRQOL) following radical perineal prostatectomy (RPP). Materials and Methods: We report the... Full Abstract  »

Background— Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are reversible inhibitors of cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and COX-2. Whether transient and incomplete COX-1 inhibition with NSAIDs other than... Full Abstract  »

Advanced non—small cell lung cancer is associated with a low rate of long-term survival and a range of painful and debilitating symptoms. Various self-report questionnaires have been developed to... Full Abstract  »

Two full-length glutamate-gated chloride channel (GluCl) cDNAs, encoding GluClalpha3 and GluClbeta subunits, were cloned from ivermectin-susceptible (IVS) and -resistant (IVR) Cooperia oncophora... Full Abstract  »

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to estimate herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2) seroprevalence from a weighted sample of adults attending relatively affluent, suburban primary care physician... Full Abstract  »

Background: No randomized, controlled trial of screening for diabetes has been conducted. in the absence of direct evidence, cost-effectiveness models may provide guidance about preferred screening... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Optimal treatment for acute pain is a function of an individual's willingness to make trade-offs between treatment side effects and pain control. The objective was to investigate the... Full Abstract  »

Objective. We wished to evaluate survival and adverse outcomes of patients with stage IB2 cervical cancer treated primarily with radical hysterectomy and lymphadenectomy. Methods. A review was... Full Abstract  »

Background. Our goal was to quantify outcomes, resource use, and treatment costs for the first 2 years after renal transplantation in a real-life European setting and to assess the impact of... Full Abstract  »

This paper reports on the measurement properties of a scale intended to measure nicotine dependence in adolescents using data from the American Legacy Longitudinal Tobacco Use Reduction Study.... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and hemolytic uremic syndrome are rare disorders characterized by platelet aggregation, microthrombi, and resulting tissue damage. We studied the... Full Abstract  »

Many economic analyses of immunization programmes focus on the benefits in terms of public-sector cost savings, but do not incorporate estimates of the private cost savings that individuals receive... Full Abstract  »

Purpose To describe a bias that can occur in the analysis of data from certain randomized trials. Methods and Results Although randomized trials are effective at preventing confounding, a... Full Abstract  »

High-intermediate grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is an aggressive form of the disease, which can respond well to combination chemotherapy, with long-term survival seen in 40-50% of patients.... Full Abstract  »

Data on the burden of disease, costs of illness, and cost-effectiveness of vaccines are needed to facilitate the use of available anti-typhoid vaccines in developing countries. This one-year... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This prospective, observational study compared disease progression and death in HIV-1 patients treated with stavudine vs. zidovudine in the Collaborations in HIV Outcomes... Full Abstract  »

Through the American Legacy Foundation's Statewide Youth Movement Against Tobacco Use (SYMATU), programs aimed at empowering youths to take action against tobacco use were funded. It is believed... Full Abstract  »

Recent econometric analyses have shown that timber supply choices reflect heterogeneous preferences for amenities and management of forests in the US South. However, this evidence is insufficient to... Full Abstract  »

Purpose Oseltamivir was approved by the FDA for the treatment of influenza in 1999. The primary objective was to compare health outcomes among influenza patients who were treated with oseltamivir... Full Abstract  »

Objective: This study examines total pharmacy cost and usage patterns of schizophrenic patients in acute mental health inpatient settings for three atypical antipsychotics risperidone, olanzapine,... Full Abstract  »

BACKGROUND: People with sickle cell disease are particularly susceptible to pneumococcal infection, which may be fatal. Infants (children aged up to 23 months) are at particularly high risk, but... Full Abstract  »

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Major risk factors for ARDS have been identified. However, only a minority of patients with such risks develops ARDS. It is likely that, given the same type and degree of insult,... Full Abstract  »