Introduction: Low dose CT (LDCT) screening for lung cancer reduces lung cancer mortality, but there is a lack of international consensus regarding the optimal eligibility criteria for screening. The Yorkshire Lung Screening Trial (YLST) was designed to evaluate lung cancer screening (LCS) implementation and a primary objective was prospective evaluation of 3 pre-defined eligibility criteria.
Methods: Individuals who had ever smoked, aged 55-80yrs, who responded to written invitation, underwent telephone risk assessment and if eligible by at least one criteria (PLCO≥1.
Unlabelled: Target product profiles (TPPs) specify the essential properties tests must have to be able to address an unmet clinical need. To explore how early economic modeling can help to define TPP specifications based on cost-effectiveness considerations using the example of a new rapid diagnostic for infection (CDI), a contagious health care-associated infection causing potentially fatal diarrhea. A resource-constrained simulation model was developed to compare a hypothetical test for CDI with current practice (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Technol Assess Health Care
November 2024
Background: International development agendas increasingly push for access to healthcare for all through universal healthcare coverage. Health economic evaluations and health technology assessment (HTA) could provide evidence to support this but do not routinely incorporate consideration of equitable access.
Methods: We undertook an international scoping review of health economic evaluation and HTA guidelines to examine how well issues of healthcare access and equity are represented, evidence recommendations, and gaps in current guidance to support evidence generation in this area.
Objectives: To examine the accuracy and impact of artificial intelligence (AI) software assistance in lung cancer screening using CT.
Methods: A systematic review of CE-marked, AI-based software for automated detection and analysis of nodules in CT lung cancer screening was conducted. Multiple databases including Medline, Embase and Cochrane CENTRAL were searched from 2012 to March 2023.
J Antimicrob Chemother
November 2024
Background: Procalcitonin (PCT) is a blood marker used to help diagnose bacterial infections and guide antibiotic treatment. PCT testing was widely used/adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.
Objectives: Primary: to measure the difference in length of early (during first 7 days) antibiotic prescribing between patients with COVID-19 who did/did not have baseline PCT testing during the first wave of the pandemic.
Background: Estimation of glomerular filtration rate using equations based on creatinine is widely used to manage chronic kidney disease. In the UK, the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration creatinine equation is recommended. Other published equations using cystatin C, an alternative marker of kidney function, have not gained widespread clinical acceptance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Diabetic eye screening (DES) represents a significant opportunity for the application of machine learning (ML) technologies, which may improve clinical and service outcomes. However, successful integration of ML into DES requires careful product development, evaluation, and implementation. Target product profiles (TPPs) summarize the requirements necessary for successful implementation so these can guide product development and evaluation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To develop preliminary good practice recommendations for synthesising and linking evidence of treatment effectiveness when modelling the cost-effectiveness of diagnostic tests.
Methods: We conducted a targeted review of guidance from key Health Technology Assessment (HTA) bodies to summarise current recommendations on synthesis and linkage of treatment effectiveness evidence within economic evaluations of diagnostic tests. We then focused on a specific case study, the cost-effectiveness of troponin for the diagnosis of myocardial infarction, and reviewed the approach taken to synthesise and link treatment effectiveness evidence in different modelling studies.
Objectives: In the UK, the number of patients urgently referred for suspected cancer is increasing, and providers are struggling to cope with demand. We explore the potential cost-effectiveness of a new risk prediction test - the PinPoint test - to triage and prioritize patients urgently referred with suspected urological cancers.
Methods: Two simulation models were developed to reflect the diagnostic pathways for patients with (i) suspected prostate cancer, and (ii) bladder or kidney cancer, comparing the PinPoint test to current practice.
Introduction: Incorrect penicillin allergy records are recognised as an important barrier to the safe treatment of infection and affect an estimated 2.7 million people in England. Penicillin allergy records are associated with worse health outcome and antimicrobial resistance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA) are relatively common incidental findings in participants undergoing low-dose CT screening for lung cancer. Some ILA are transient and inconsequential, but others represent interstitial lung disease (ILD). Lung cancer screening therefore offers the opportunity of earlier diagnosis and treatment of ILD for some screening participants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: COPD is underdiagnosed, and measurement of spirometry alongside low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening for lung cancer is one strategy to increase earlier diagnosis of this disease.
Methods: Ever-smokers at high risk of lung cancer were invited to the Yorkshire Lung Screening Trial for a lung health check (LHC) comprising LDCT screening, pre-bronchodilator spirometry and a smoking cessation service. In this cross-sectional study we present data on participant demographics, respiratory symptoms, lung function, emphysema on imaging and both self-reported and primary care diagnoses of COPD.
Myeloma is one of the hardest cancers to diagnose in primary care due to its rarity and non-specific symptoms. A rate-limiting step in diagnosing myeloma is the clinician considering myeloma and initiating appropriate investigations. We developed and internally validated a risk prediction model to identify those with a high risk of having undiagnosed myeloma based on results from routine blood tests taken for other reasons.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Approximately thirty thousand people in Scotland are diagnosed with cancer annually, of whom a third live less than one year. The timing, nature and value of hospital-based healthcare for patients with advanced cancer are not well understood. The study's aim was to describe the timing and nature of hospital-based healthcare use and associated costs in the last year of life for patients with a cancer diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground & Aims: Patients with liver disease can be stratified for risk of liver-related ill health by degree of hepatic fibrosis. The Enhanced liver fibrosis (ELF) test was developed to quantify hepatic fibrosis non-invasively and is widely used. The objective of this review was to identify and synthesise the evidence on the diagnostic accuracy of the ELF test for staging of hepatic fibrosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel virus responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Although COVID-19 is a viral illness, many patients admitted to hospital are prescribed antibiotics, based on concerns that COVID-19 patients may experience secondary bacterial infections, and the assumption that they may respond well to antibiotic therapy. This has led to an increase in antibiotic use for some hospitalised patients at a time when accumulating antibiotic resistance is a major global threat to health.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: This body of work aimed to elicit ambulance service staff's perceptions on the barriers and facilitators to adoption, and clinical utility of incorporating rapid SARS-CoV-2 testing during ambulance assessments.
Design: A mixed-methods survey-based project using a framework analysis method to organise qualitative data.
Setting: Emergency and non-emergency care ambulatory services in the UK were approached to take part.