Walking one hour per day and the derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio are associated with outcome in palliative second-line immunotherapy for patients with recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck.

Objectives: To determine whether routinary walking activity and the derived neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio are associated with outcomes in patients with recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck.

Methods: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included 64 patients diagnosed with recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck and treated with immunotherapy (Programmed Death-1 and Programmed Death-ligand-1 proteins inhibitors) at two tertiary centers. We compared a group that performed uninterrupted physical activity for 1 h per day and controls who performed no activity.

Use of healthcare resources and drug expenditure before and after treatment of chronic hepatitis C with direct antiviral agents.

The aim of this study was to analyse the impact of treating chronic hepatitis C (CHC) with direct-acting agents (DAA) on the use of healthcare resources. We included all patients treated with DAA for CHC from January 2015 to December 2017 in Catalonia whose medical records from 12 months before to 24 months after treatment were available. Data were obtained from the Catalan Health Surveillance System.

Implementing reflective multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) to assess orphan drugs value in the Catalan Health Service (CatSalut).

Background: Orphan medicines show some characteristics that hinder the evaluation of their clinical added value. The often low level of evidence available for orphan drugs, together with a high budget impact and an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio many times higher than drugs used for non-orphan diseases, represent challenges in their appraisal and effective access to clinical use. In order to explore how to handle these hurdles, the Catalan Health Service (CatSalut) began an initiative on a multidimensional assessment of drugs value during the appraisal process.

DRUG EVALUATION AND DECISION MAKING IN CATALONIA: DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK BASED ON MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION ANALYSIS (MCDA) FOR ORPHAN DRUGS.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to adapt and assess the value of a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) framework (EVIDEM) for the evaluation of Orphan drugs in Catalonia (Catalan Health Service).

Methods: The standard evaluation and decision-making procedures of CatSalut were compared with the EVIDEM methodology and contents. The EVIDEM framework was adapted to the Catalan context, focusing on the evaluation of Orphan drugs (PASFTAC program), during a Workshop with sixteen PASFTAC members.

The impact of new drug introduction on drug expenditure in primary health care in Catalunya, Spain.

Background: Introduction of new drugs is a dynamic process with a high impact on consumption and expenditure.

Objective: To analyze the prescription of new drugs and the associated costs in public health care in Catalunya, Spain, in 2002. The analysis also attempts a perspective of consumption in relation to the grade of therapeutic innovation of the new drugs.

[Outbreak of foodborne disease by Norwalk-like viruses genogroup II].

Background: Our goal was to investigate the epidemiological characteristics and etiology of an outbreak of food-borne disease caused by Norwalk-like viruses, genogroup II.

Patients And Method: We performed a historical cohort study on the consumption of 21 food items and clinical symptoms. We assessed RNA Norwalk-like viruses by RT- PCR in stool samples from 5 patients and 2 food-handlers.