The impact of atrial fibrillation on the cost of stroke: the berlin acute stroke study.

Objectives: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an important risk factor for stroke. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the resource use for patients admitted to hospital with acute stroke and to calculate stroke-related direct costs, stratifying the results according to the presence of AF as a risk factor.

Methods: Data from 558 consecutive patients hospitalized with confirmed acute stroke between August 2000 and July 2001 were analyzed as part of the Berlin Acute Stroke Study.

Cost-effectiveness of acupuncture treatment in patients with chronic neck pain.

Acupuncture is increasingly used in patients with chronic pain, but there is a lack of evidence on the cost-benefit relationship of this treatment strategy. The objective of this study was to assess costs and cost-effectiveness of additional acupuncture treatment in patients with chronic neck pain compared to patients receiving routine care alone. A randomized controlled trial including patients (18 years of age) with chronic neck pain (>6 months) was carried out.

Pragmatic randomized trial evaluating the clinical and economic effectiveness of acupuncture for chronic low back pain.

In a randomized controlled trial plus a nonrandomized cohort, the authors investigated the effectiveness and costs of acupuncture in addition to routine care in the treatment of chronic low back pain and assessed whether the effects of acupuncture differed in randomized and nonrandomized patients. In 2001, German patients with chronic low back pain were allocated to an acupuncture group or a no-acupuncture control group. Persons who did not consent to randomization were included in a nonrandomized acupuncture group.

Outcome and costs of homoeopathic and conventional treatment strategies: a comparative cohort study in patients with chronic disorders.

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of homoeopathy versus conventional treatment in routine care.

Design: Comparative cohort study.

Setting: Patients with selected chronic diagnoses were enrolled in medical practice.

Economic assessment of adjustable maintenance treatment with budesonide/formoterol in a single inhaler versus fixed treatment in asthma.

Objectives: To compare the costs and effectiveness of adjustable maintenance dosing with budesonide/formoterol in a single inhaler versus fixed dosing in adults with asthma.

Methods: In this prospective, randomised, open-label, parallel-group, multicentre trial conducted in Germany, patients with asthma received budesonide/formoterol 160 microg/4.5 microg in a single inhaler (Symbicort Turbuhaler with two inhalations twice daily for a 4-week run-in period.