Unravelling the Association Between Uncertainties in Model-based Economic Analysis and Funding Recommendations of Medicines in Australia.

Objective: Health technology assessment is used extensively by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) to inform medicine funding recommendations in Australia. The PBAC often does not recommend medicines due to uncertainties in economic modelling that result in delaying access to medicines for patients. The systematic identification of which uncertainties can be reduced with alternative evidence or the collection of additional data can help inform recommendations.

Australian University Students' Experience of Animal-Assisted Education: An Exploratory Study.

University students experience poorer mental health outcomes when compared to the general population. Poor mental health has been associated with reduced wellbeing and low academic performance, resulting in higher rates of withdrawal. Animal-assisted education is an intervention found to result in a reduction in anxiety and an increased learning engagement among primary and secondary students.

Bring Out Your Dead: A Review of the Cost Minimisation Approach in Health Technology Assessment Submissions to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee.

Objectives: Published literature has levied criticism against the cost-minimisation analysis (CMA) approach to economic evaluation over the past two decades, with multiple papers declaring its 'death'. However, since introducing the requirements for economic evaluations as part of health technology (HTA) decision-making in 1992, the cost-minimisation analysis (CMA) approach has been widely used to inform recommendations about the public subsidy of medicines in Australia. This research aimed to highlight the breadth of use of CMA in Australia and assess the influence of preconditions for the approach on subsidy recommendations METHODS: Relevant information was extracted from Public Summary Documents of Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) meetings in Australia considering submissions for the subsidy of medicines that included a CMA and were assessed between July 2005 and December 2022.

Exploring the goals and outcomes of adults with severe acquired brain injury participating in an extended inpatient brain injury rehabilitation unit in Australia.

Purpose: To explore the rehabilitation goals and evaluate goal attainment outcomes of people with severe acquired brain injury (ABI), and investigate the relationship between goal engagement and goal attainment.

Materials And Methods: Mixed-methods cohort study with twenty-nine adults with severe ABI in Australia. Demographic data, goal statements and pre-post program Goal Attainment Scale scores as well as Goal Engagement Scale scores were collected.

Associations between participation and personal factors in community-dwelling adults post-stroke.

Purpose: To examine associations between post-stroke participation and personal factors, including demographic characteristics, self- and threat appraisals, and personality variables.

Methods: An exploratory cross-sectional study with purpose-designed survey was completed online or via mail. The survey was comprised of demographic and health-related questions and multiple questionnaires, including the Stroke Impact Scale Version 3.

Electronic Immunoassay Using Enzymatic Metallization on Microparticles.

We present here an inexpensive method for generating a sensitive direct electronic readout in bead-based immunoassays without the use of any intermediate optical instrumentation (e.g., lasers, photomultipliers, etc.

A 'train the trainers' approach to infection prevention and control training in pandemic conditions.

Background: The first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic in early 2020 required a rapid roll-out of infection prevention and control (IPC) training for healthcare workers (HCW), including use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). Education about respiratory droplet and aerosol transmission was of paramount importance to ensure safe working practices and improve confidence.

Methods: A joint working group of Infectious Diseases and IPC staff developed a 'train the trainers' programme, to be rapidly deployed over a three-week period.

Validation of personal protective equipment ensembles, incorporating powered air-purifying respirators protected from contamination, for the care of patients with high-consequence infectious diseases.

Background: The UK High-Consequence Infectious Diseases (HCID) Network of high-level isolation units provides care for patients with contact- or airborne-transmissible highly infectious and highly dangerous diseases. In most HCID units, the healthcare workers (HCWs) wear personal protective equipment (PPE) ensembles incorporating a powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) for head and respiratory protection. Some PAPRs have components worn outside/over other PPE, necessitating decontamination of re-usable elements.

Economic Evaluation of Three BRAF + MEK Inhibitors for the Treatment of Advanced Unresectable Melanoma With BRAF Mutation From a US Payer Perspective.

Background: The combinations of BRAF + MEK inhibitors-encorafenib (ENC) + binimetinib (BIN), cobimetinib (COB) + vemurafenib (VEM), and dabrafenib (DAB) + trametinib (TRA)-are recommended for the treatment of BRAF-mutated advanced melanoma.

Objective: To assess the cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of ENC + BIN versus COB + VEM versus DAB + TRA from a US payer perspective.

Methods: A Markov model was constructed to simulate a hypothetical cohort over a time horizon of 10 years.

Personal factors, participation, and satisfaction post-stroke: A qualitative exploration.

Background: Decreased participation and life satisfaction are common post-stroke. Exploratory studies have indicated associations between these outcomes and personal factors. Information remains limited and experiences of people with stroke are not well-represented or understood.

Avelumab Plus Talazoparib in Patients With BRCA1/2- or ATM-Altered Advanced Solid Tumors: Results From JAVELIN BRCA/ATM, an Open-Label, Multicenter, Phase 2b, Tumor-Agnostic Trial.

Importance: Nonclinical studies suggest that the combination of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase and programmed cell death 1/programmed cell death-ligand 1 inhibitors has enhanced antitumor activity; however, the patient populations that may benefit from this combination have not been identified.

Objective: To evaluate whether the combination of avelumab and talazoparib is effective in patients with pathogenic BRCA1/2 or ATM alterations, regardless of tumor type.

Design, Setting, And Participants: In this pan-cancer tumor-agnostic phase 2b nonrandomized controlled trial, patients with advanced BRCA1/2-altered or ATM-altered solid tumors were enrolled into 2 respective parallel cohorts.

Increasing anti-S antibody testing: a quality improvement initiative with evolving COVID-19 guidelines.

Background: COVID-19 management guidelines are constantly evolving, making them difficult to implement practically. was a neutralising monoclonal antibody introduced into UK COVID-19 guidelines in 2021. It reduces mortality in seronegative patients infected with non-omicron variants.

Microcosting Study of Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography in Prostate Cancer.

Objectives: Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) has emerged as a promising imaging tool in prostate cancer diagnosis. PSMA PET/CT radiotracers are produced in-house (gallium-68, eg, Ga-PSMA-11) or provided by commercial entities (fluorine-18, eg, F-DCFPyL). Nevertheless, the cost per procedure is not well established given that current estimates have several limitations.

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography (PET/CT) for the Primary Staging of Prostate Cancer in Australia.

Background And Objectives: Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography (PET) combined with computed tomography (CT) is a new imaging modality to detect the extra-prostatic spread of prostate cancer. PSMA PET/CT has a higher sensitivity and specificity than conventional imaging (CT ± whole body bone scan [WBBS]). This study conducted a cost-utility analysis of PSMA PET/CT compared with conventional imaging for patients with newly diagnosed, intermediate-risk or high-risk primary prostate cancer.

The Effect of Home Foreclosures on Child Maltreatment Rates: A Longitudinal Examination of Neighborhoods in Cleveland, Ohio.

Foreclosure rates have been linked to increased levels of neighborhood stress. Neighborhood stressors can impact a number of interpersonal and familial dynamics, including child maltreatment. Despite this, little research has examined the relationship between neighborhood foreclosure rates and aggregate trends in child maltreatment.

Three biomarker tests to help diagnose preterm labour: a systematic review and economic evaluation.

Background: Preterm birth may result in short- and long-term health problems for the child. Accurate diagnoses of preterm births could prevent unnecessary (or ensure appropriate) admissions into hospitals or transfers to specialist units.

Objectives: The purpose of this report is to assess the test accuracy, clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the diagnostic tests PartoSure™ (Parsagen Diagnostics Inc.

Everolimus, lutetium-177 DOTATATE and sunitinib for advanced, unresectable or metastatic neuroendocrine tumours with disease progression: a systematic review and cost-effectiveness analysis.

Background: Neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) are a group of heterogeneous cancers that develop in cells in the diffuse neuroendocrine system.

Objectives: To estimate the clinical effectiveness of three interventions [everolimus (Afinitor; Novartis International AG, Basel, Switzerland), lutetium-177 DOTATATE (177Lu-DOTATATE) (Lutathera; Imaging Equipment Ltd, Radstock, UK) and sunitinib (Sutent; Pfizer Inc., New York, NY, USA)] for treating unresectable or metastatic NETs with disease progression and establish the cost-effectiveness of these interventions.

Inhibition of chlorine-induced airway fibrosis by budesonide.

Chlorine is a chemical threat agent that can be harmful to humans. Acute inhalation of high levels of chlorine results in the death of airway epithelial cells and can lead to persistent adverse effects on respiratory health, including airway remodeling and hyperreactivity. We previously developed a mouse chlorine exposure model in which animals developed inflammation and fibrosis in large airways.

Arthroscopic Pectoralis Minor Release.

The scapula has long been recognized as a key component in shoulder motion and a crucial part of the kinetic chain connecting the body's core and upper extremity. The pectoralis minor (PM) has garnered increasing attention as we better understand scapular kinematics and its role in shoulder pain and dysfunction. This is particularly important in patients with scapular dyskinesis and especially in overhead throwing athletes.

Economic Analysis of First-Line Treatment with Cetuximab or Panitumumab for RAS Wild-Type Metastatic Colorectal Cancer in England.

Background: Combination therapies with cetuximab (Erbitux; Merck Serono UK Ltd) and panitumumab (Vectibix; Amgen UK Ltd) are shown to be less effective in adults with metastatic colorectal cancer who have mutations in exons 2, 3 and 4 of KRAS and NRAS oncogenes from the rat sarcoma (RAS) family.

Objective: The objective of the study was to estimate the cost effectiveness of these drugs in patients with previously untreated RAS wild-type (i.e.

Correction to: Olaratumab in Combination with Doxorubicin for the Treatment of Advanced Soft Tissue Sarcoma: An Evidence Review Group Perspective of a National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence Single Technology Appraisal.

Page 41, Column 1, Section 3.1, paragraph 2, 1st sentence which.