Cost-Effectiveness of Bivalent Respiratory Syncytial Virus Prefusion F Vaccine for Prevention of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Among Older Adults in Greece.

Background/objectives: To evaluate the health benefits, costs, and cost-effectiveness of vaccination with bivalent respiratory syncytial virus stabilized prefusion F vaccine (RSVpreF) for the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in Greek adults 60 years of age and older.

Methods: A Markov model was adapted to simulate lifetime risk of health and economic outcomes from the public payer's perspective over a lifetime horizon. Epidemiology, vaccine effectiveness, utilities, and direct medical costs (EUR, 2024) were obtained from published studies, official sources, and local experts.

Lorlatinib as a first-line treatment of adult patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive advanced non-small cell lung cancer: Α cost-effectiveness analysis in Greece.

Objectives: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of lorlatinib compared to 1 generation anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) TKI crizotinib, and 2 generation TKIs alectinib and brigatinib, for previously untreated patients with ALK+ advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (aNSCLC).

Methods: A partitioned survival model was locally adapted from a Greek payer perspective over a lifetime horizon. Clinical, safety and utility data were extracted from literature.

Developing a Feasible Integrated Framework for Occupational Heat Stress Protection: A Step Towards Safer Working Environments.

Background: Specialized occupational health and safety (OHS) issues are covered at the EU level through detailed legislation and guidelines. Unfortunately, this does not extend to occupational heat stress, not only in Greece but also (with few exceptions) internationally. One possible explanation could be the difficulty in accurately identifying the dangerous conditions, as many environmental and individualized elements are involved, and hundreds of "thermal stress indicators" are available.

Health and economic outcomes of 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine compared to 15-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine strategies for adults in Greece.

Objective: Higher valency pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) are expected to improve protection against pneumococcal disease through coverage of additional serotypes. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV20) compared to 15-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV15) alone or followed by 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23) for adults in Greece.

Methods: A published Markov model was adapted to simulate lifetime risk of clinical and economic outcomes from the public payer's perspective.

Estimating the Clinical and Economic Impact of Switching from the 13-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV13) to Higher-Valent Options in Greek Infants.

In June 2010, Greece introduced the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) for pediatric vaccination and has since observed a large decrease in pneumococcal disease caused by these vaccine serotypes, yet the disease prevalence of non-vaccine serotypes has increased. Two higher-valent conjugate vaccines, a 15-valent (PCV15) and a 20-valent (PCV20), were developed to improve serotype coverage and combat serotype replacement. A decision-analytic model was adapted to the Greek setting using historical pneumococcal disease trends from PCV13 to forecast future clinical and economic outcomes of higher-valent PCVs over a 10-year period (2023-2033).

Does a Standard Cost-Effectiveness Threshold Exist? The Case of Greece.

Objectives: This study aimed to systematically review the use of cost-effectiveness (CE) threshold for evaluating pharmacological interventions in Greece.

Methods: A systematic search of PubMed and ScienceDirect was conducted between January 2009 and June 2022. The data of selected studies were extracted using a relevant form and consequently were synthesized.

EFOMP policy statement 17: The role and competences of medical physicists and medical physics experts in the different stages of a medical device life cycle.

MPPs are trained in the branches of physics associated with the practice of medicine. Possessing a solid scientific background and technical skills, MPPs are well suited to play a leading role within each stage of a medical device life cycle. The various stages of the life cycle of a medical device include establishment of requirements with use-case assessment, investment planning, procurement of medical devices, acceptance testing especially regarding safety and performance, quality management, effective and safe use and maintenance, user training, interfacing with IT systems, and safe decommissioning and removal of the medical devices.

Photobiological hazards in shielded metal arc welding.

Purpose: Photobiological hazards caused by artificial optical radiation are assessed for the most commonly used arc welding technique, the SMAW (Shielded Metal Arc Welding), which operates with a hand-held system and is widely used both at occupational and domestic environments, expanding our previous investigation of a robotic arc welding process.

Methods: The complex exposure limits of the emitted blue and visible light, ultraviolet and infrared, are assessed through the European Directive 2006/25/EC, using three dedicated sensors set to measure irradiance from various typical welding procedures in the controlled environment (currents, electrodes, etc.) of a welding laboratory.

Cost-Utility Analysis of Pegaspargase for the Treatment of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Greece.

Background And Objective: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is an acute, rapidly progressing and life-threatening form of cancer involving immature lymphocytes called lymphoblasts. ALL is the most common subtype of leukemia in children and adolescents. The aim of the present study was to assess the cost-utility of pegaspargase versus L-asparaginase, both followed by Erwinase in the therapy sequence, as a treatment option for pediatric, adolescent, and adult patients with ALL in Greece.

Cost-effectiveness Analysis of Lorlatinib in Patients Previously Treated with Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase Inhibitors for Non-small Cell Lung Cancer in Greece.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which accounts for about 80%-85% of lungcancer cases, is a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Lorlatinib is a potent third-generation anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor approved for the treatment of patients with advanced, ALK-positive NSCLC previously treated with at least one second-generation ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitor. The present study assessed the cost-effectiveness of lorlatinib vs pemetrexed with platinum combination of carboplatin or cisplatin (P-ChT) in Greece.

Occupational electromagnetic spectrum hazards and the significance of artificial optical radiation: country report for Greece.

Background: The electromagnetic spectrum spans over an enormous range from 0 up to more than 1020 Hz in the deep ionizing region, significant exposures exist in specific occupational environments. Between the ionizing and the electromagnetic fields (EMF) part of the spectrum, the 'optical radiation' (OR) region has specific properties. Comparative and concise evaluation enables action prioritization.

Application of Multicriteria Decision Analysis to Determine the Value of Prophylaxis Relative to On-Demand Treatment in Hemophilia A and Emicizumab versus Replacement Therapy in the Greek Healthcare Setting.

Background And Objective: Hemophilia A (HA) is a rare disease that is characterized by congenital underproduction or dysfunction of the endogenous coagulation factor VIII (FVIII). The aim of the present study was to determine the value of prophylaxis versus on-demand treatment strategies for moderate to severe HA (MtSHA) patients and the value of emicizumab in the prophylaxis of MtSHA in Greece, compared with short half-life (SHL) FVIII and extended half-life (EHL) FVIII through multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA).

Methods: A literature review was performed to identify a set of criteria relevant to the therapeutic approaches and therapies under investigation.

Introduction of a new simple dynamic phantom for physical BOLD effect simulation.

Objective: To propose a new method of simulating the BOLD contrast using a dynamic, easy to construct and operate, low-cost physical phantom.

Materials And Methods: A structure of thin pipelines passing through a gel volume was used to simulate blood vessels in human tissue. Quantitative T2*, R2* measurements were used to study the signal change of the phantom.

The Significance of Echo Time in fMRI BOLD Contrast: A Clinical Study during Motor and Visual Activation Tasks at 1.5 T.

Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) is a commonly-used MR imaging technique in studying brain function. The BOLD signal can be strongly affected by specific sequence parameters, especially in small field strengths. Previous small-scale studies have investigated the effect of TE on BOLD contrast.

Cost-effectiveness of trifluridine/tipiracil as a third-line treatment of metastatic gastric cancer, including adenocarcinoma of the gastrohesophageal junction, among patients previously treated in Greece.

Objective: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of trifluridine/tipiracil (FTD/TPI) compared with best supportive care (BSC) for the treatment of patients with metastatic gastric cancer(mGC), including gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma(GEJ), who have received at least two prior therapies for metastatic disease and are eligible for third-line treatment, in Greece.

Methods: A partitioned survival model was locally adapted from a public payer perspective over a 10-year time horizon. Clinical, safety and utility data were extracted from literature.

Cost-effectiveness of Empagliflozin Compared with Dapagliflozin for the Treatment of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Established Cardiovascular Disease in Greece.

Background And Objective: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) accounts for approximately 95% of all diabetes cases and is associated with a substantially elevated risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) that is 2- to 4-times higher in patients with T2DM compared to those without. The aim of present study was to evaluate the cost effectiveness of empagliflozin compared to dapagliflozin for the treatment of patients with T2DM and established CVD in Greece.

Methods: A published health economic model was used to project clinical and economic outcomes of T2DM patients receiving empagliflozin compared to those receiving dapagliflozin.

End-of-life cost for lung cancer patients in Greece: a hospital-based retrospective study.

The aim of the present study was to estimate the cost of treating patients with lung cancer at their end-of-life (EOL) phase of care in Greece. A hospital-based retrospective study was conducted in the Oncology Unit of 'Sotiria' Hospital, in Athens, Greece. All lung cancer patients who died between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2018 with at least 6 months follow-up were enrolled in the study.

A statistical analysis for RF-EMF exposure levels in sensitive land use: A novel study in Greek primary and secondary education schools.

Background: The increasing popularity of mobile phones and the expansion of network infrastructure in Greece have given rise to public concerns about potential adverse health effects on sensitive groups, such as children, from long-term radio-frequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMFs) exposure. According to Greek law the RF limit values for sensitive land use (schools, hospitals, etc) have been set to 60% of those recommended by EU standard and 70% for the general population.

Aims: The objective of this study is to estimate mean RF-EMF exposure levels of Greek primary and secondary edu-cation schools located in urban environments.

Cost-effectiveness of tofacitinib for the treatment of moderate to severe active ulcerative colitis in Greece.

Objective: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of tofacitinib versus other treatment options currently available for the management of adult patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis, who have had an inadequate response, loss of response, or were intolerant to conventional therapy or a biologic agent, in Greece.

Methods: A Markov model was adapted for projecting lifetime costs and outcomes, for a cohort of patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis from a Greek payer perspective. Patients entered the model in the active ulcerative colitis state and transitioned to a remission or response state or they underwent colectomy.

Apparent diffusion coefficient measurements on a novel diffusion weighted MRI phantom utilizing EPI and HASTE sequences.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to introduce a novel DWI-MRI phantom and to compare Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) measurements, utilizing EPI-DWI and HASTE-DWI sequences and two different fitting algorithms.

Materials And Methods: 23 test tubes with different sucrose concentrations and polyacrylamide gels were used as a phantom for ADC measurements. The phantom was scanned on a clinical MRI system (1.