Publications by authors named "Fitzsimon C"
Cyclooxygenase (COX)-2-specific inhibitors were developed to circumvent the gastrointestinal toxicity of non-specific non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs while maintaining efficacy. However, the higher acquisition cost of COX-2-specific inhibitors has resulted in the implementation of a programme for cost containment in the Ontario public drug program. This programme consists of limited use (LU) criteria that need to be met for drug reimbursement of patients with osteoarthritis (OA) or rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To investigate the economic implications of a 2-dose hepatitis B virus vaccination regimen compared with the current 3-dose vaccination regimen for adolescents in 3 settings: public schools, public health clinics, and private sector settings in the United States.
Methods: To measure resource utilization and costs associated with the administration of the 3-dose regimen and to assess vaccination compliance rates with this regimen, primary data were collected with the use of questionnaires tailored for each setting. Conservative modeling assumptions were used to derive 2-dose compliance rates from 3-dose compliance data.
Objective: To construct a decision analytical model to compare the costs and clinical consequences of treating patients with celecoxib or various nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)/gastrointestinal (GI) co-therapy regimens for the management of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. The model quantified the number of patients expected to experience any GI complication commonly associated with NSAID therapy.
Design: Resource use for the treatment of each GI complication in the model was estimated after consulting Canadian experts.
Objective: Primarily, to determine the direct medical costs and productivity losses associated with complicated chickenpox (hospitalized cases) and, secondarily, to quantify the overall economic burden of chickenpox in Canada.
Methods: Direct medical resource consumption patterns were determined by chart review of 160 otherwise healthy children and 40 children with leukemia hospitalized for chickenpox. Children were selected from the database of the Immunization Monitoring Program Active (IMPACT), a network of 11 tertiary-care hospitals in Canada that collected information at the time of hospitalization from January 1991 to March 1996.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the direct medical costs and productivity losses associated with uncomplicated chickenpox (no hospitalization) in Canada.
Methods: A total of 179 otherwise healthy 1- to 9-year-old children with active chickenpox were recruited from schools, day care centers, and physician offices in 5 provinces. Direct medical (physician contacts, medication, and diagnostic tests) and nonmedical (personal expenses including child care) resources expended during the illness were determined by caregiver interview.
Objective: To evaluate the potential economic benefits of a program for a second routine dose of combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, administered to children in Canada.
Design: Both published and unpublished data from the United States and Canada were incorporated into a linear model. This information was supplemented with opinions on probability and resource use from interviews with a Canadian panel of physicians and practitioners.
Objective: To determine the cost-effectiveness of simvastatin in the secondary prevention of coronary artery disease (CAD) in Canada.
Design: Cost-effectiveness model based on results from the Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study (45 study) and cost and resource utilization data from Canadian sources to simulate the economic impact of long-term simvastatin treatment (15 years).
Patients: Subjects with mean age of 59.