Recent research into end of life and palliative care has focused on the development of a replacement for the quality adjusted life year (QALY) as an outcome measure. Reasons given range from the lack of anticipated survival benefit from treatment to the inappropriateness of death as an anchor for valuing health states, or the increased value of time to the individual at the end of life. The Pal...

Patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and end-stage renal disease may remain on dialysis or undergo cadaveric kidney transplantation, living kidney transplantation, sequential pancreas after living kidney transplantation, or simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation. It is unclear which of these options is most effective. The objective of this study was to determine the optimal treatment st...

Aim: To assess the cost effectiveness of high dose zinc and antioxidants for delaying and reducing the progression of early age related macular degeneration (AMD). Background: AMD is the leading cause of severe vision impairment and blindness in older people throughout the developed world. It currently affects around 420 000 people in the United Kingdom. Methods: A cost utility analysis (CUA) w...

AIM To assess the cost effectiveness of high dose zinc and antioxidants for delaying and reducing the progression of early age related macular degeneration (AMD). BACKGROUND AMD is the leading cause of severe vision impairment and blindness in older people throughout the developed world. It currently affects around 420 000 people in the United Kingdom. METHODS A cost utility analysis (CUA) ...

Objective: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of monthly and as-needed dosing protocols using ranibizumab or bevacizumab for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), when the treatment costs of severe ocular and systemic adverse events are considered. Methods: A Markov model was developed to assess the cost effectiveness of each of the following protocols: monthly ra...

BACKGROUND A number of studies have been conducted to estimate willingness to pay (WTP) per quality-adjusted life years (QALY) in patients or general population for various diseases. However, there has not been any systematic review summarizing the relationship between WTP per QALY and cost-effectiveness (CE) threshold based on World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation. OBJECTIVE To syst...

BACKGROUND Many noninvasive tests exist to determine whether patients should undergo coronary angiography. The routine use of coronary angiography without previous noninvasive testing is typically not advocated. OBJECTIVE To determine the cost-effectiveness of diagnostic strategies for patients with chest pain. DESIGN Cost-effectiveness analysis. DATA SOURCES Published data. TARGET POPU...

OBJECTIVES To estimate cost and outcomes of the Arthritis Foundation aquatic exercise classes from the societal perspective. DESIGN Randomized trial of 20-week aquatic classes. Cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained was estimated using trial data. Sample size was based on 80% power to reject the null hypothesis that the cost/QALY gained would not exceed $50,000. SUBJECTS AND METH...

CONTEXT Multiple options are now available for prophylaxis of opportunistic infections related to the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). However, because of differences in incidence rates as well as drug efficacy, toxicity, and costs, the role of different types of prophylaxis remains uncertain. OBJECTIVE To determine the clinical impact, cost, and cost-effectiveness of strategies for...