Estimating the implicit value of statistical life based on public interventions implemented in The Netherlands.

Objectives: In the Netherlands, allocation decisions have not yet been explicitly based on the Value of Statistical Life. However, when policy makers decide whether or not to implement life saving interventions this trade-off is made implicitly. This study aimed to gain insights into this trade-off, hereafter referred to as Implicit Value of Statistical Life (IVSL), by means of a retrospective investment analysis of life saving interventions implemented in the Netherlands.

Economic evaluation of duloxetine for the treatment of women with stress urinary incontinence: a Markov model comparing pharmacotherapy with pelvic floor muscle training.

Background: Duloxetine is a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor and may be useful for treating women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in general practice.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the cost-effectiveness of 2 duloxetine strategies (duloxetine alone and duloxetine after inadequate response to pelvic floor muscle training [PFMT]) compared with PFMT or no treatment for women aged>or=50 years with SUI.

Methods: A Markov model with a 3-month cycle length was developed, with a time horizon of 5 years.

Selective prescribing of atypical antipsychotics.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate whether the most recent introduced atypical antipsychotics olanzapine and risperidone were preferentially prescribed to patients susceptible to develop extrapyramidal side effects (EPS) and those not responding adequately to typical antipsychotics.

Methods: Data were obtained from the Dutch PHARMO system that includes complete medication and hospital admission records of 675 000 residents of 14 Dutch cities. A total number of 129 new users of olanzapine and 142 new users of risperidone as well as 507 new users of typical antipsychotic drugs were identified from our database in the period of 1996-1998.

Prevalence and incidence of severe sepsis in Dutch intensive care units.

Introduction: Severe sepsis is a dreaded consequence of infection and necessitates intensive care treatment. Severe sepsis has a profound impact on mortality and on hospital costs, but recent incidence data from The Netherlands are not available. The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence and incidence of severe sepsis occurring during the first 24 hours of admission in Dutch intensive care units (ICUs).