Association between air pollution and hospitalization for acute exacerbation of kidney failure: A nationwide time-stratified case-crossover study in China.

Background: Air pollution is a potential risk factor for kidney disease; however, the impact on kidney failure exacerbation is underexplored. This study assessed the short-term effects of air pollution on hospitalization for kidney failure exacerbation.

Methods: This nationwide, time-stratified, case-crossover study included 45,249 hospitalized patients with kidney failure from 153 hospitals in 20 Chinese provinces between 2013 and 2020.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of budesonide/formoterol SMART therapy versus salmeterol/fluticasone plus as-needed SABA among patients ≥12 years with moderate asthma from the Chinese societal perspective.

Objectives: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of budesonide/formoterol reliever and maintenance therapy compared with salmeterol/fluticasone plus salbutamol as reliever therapy for asthma patients ≥12 years from the societal perspective in China.

Methods: A Markov model was developed with three health states (non-exacerbation, exacerbation, and death) with a lifetime horizon. The exacerbation rates were obtained from a prospective cohort study conducted in Chinese asthma patients.

Quantification of the Heat-Related Risk and Burden of Hospitalizations for Cause-Specific Injuries and Contribution of Human-Induced Climate Change: A Time-Stratified Case-Crossover Study in China.

Background: Although ambient temperature has been linked with injury incidence, there have been few nationwide studies to quantify the temperature-related risk and burden of cause-specific injury hospitalizations. Additionally, the impact of human-induced climate change to injury burden remains unknown.

Objectives: Our objectives are to examine the associations between ambient temperature and injury hospitalizations from various causes and to quantify the contribution of human-induced warming to the heat-related burden.

Clinical outcomes of radiofrequency catheter ablation guided by intracardiac echocardiography for Chinese atrial fibrillation patients: a single-center, retrospective study.

Background: Intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) is a novel technology with certain advantages in treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF), yet there is limited research on the use of ICE in radiofrequency ablation for AF treatment in China. The aim of this study was to investigate the total fluoroscopy time and dose, safety, and effectiveness of ICE guided traditional fluoroscopy (non-ICE) guided radiofrequency ablation for AF in China.

Methods: We conducted a single-center retrospective analysis of patients who underwent ICE or traditional fluoroscopy-guided radiofrequency ablation for AF.

Radiofrequency ablation using the ThermoCool SmartTouch Catheter guided by ablation index versus antiarrhythmic drugs in atrial fibrillation treatment in China: a cost-consequence analysis.

To evaluate the costs and consequences of two front-line atrial fibrillation (AF) treatments from Chinese healthcare system perspective: radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) using ThermoCool SmartTouch Catheter guided by Ablation Index (STAI), in comparison to antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs). We simulated clinical and economic consequences for AF patients initially receiving STAI or AADs using a short-term decision tree model leading to a 10-year long-term Markov model. The model projected both clinical consequences and costs associated with, among others, AF, heart failure (HF), strokes, and deaths due to AF or AF related complications.

Criteria air pollutants and hospitalizations of a wide spectrum of cardiovascular diseases: A nationwide case-crossover study in China.

Few national studies have systemically examined the effects of criteria air pollutants on cardiovascular morbidity. This study aimed to investigate the associations between all criteria air pollutants and hospitalization of cause-specific cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in China. We obtained data on CVD hospitalization events of four major categories and 12 specific diseases from 153 hospitals distributed in 20 provincial-level regions from 2013 to 2020.

Ambient Nitrogen Dioxide and Hospitalizations of Full-Spectrum Respiratory Diseases: A National Case-Crossover Study.

Few multicity studies have examined the acute effects of nitrogen dioxide (NO) on respiratory disease (RD), especially its specific causes. This study aimed to investigate the associations between short-term exposure to NO and hospitalization of full-spectrum RDs in China. Hospitalization of 10 major categories and 40 cause-specific RDs were obtained from 20 provinces over the study period of 2013-2020.

Association of statin use and increase in lipoprotein(a): a real-world database research.

Background: There is an increased concern that statins may have an unintended effect of elevated lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)]. We conducted a large sample real-world study to test the association.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from an integrated SuValue database, which includes 221 hospitals across China covering more than 200,000 of population with longitudinal follow-up to 10 years.

Access to innovative drugs and the National Reimbursement Drug List in China: Changing dynamics and future trends in pricing and reimbursement.

Background And Objectives: Multiple reforms aimed at improving the Chinese population's health have been introduced in recent years, including several designed to improve access to innovative drugs. We sought to review current factors affecting access to innovative drugs in China and to anticipate future trends.

Methods: Targeted reviews of published literature and statistics on the Chinese healthcare system, medical insurance and reimbursement processes were conducted, as well as interviews with five Chinese experts involved in the reimbursement of innovative drugs.

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Relmacabtagene Autoleucel for Relapsed or Refractory Large B-Cell Lymphoma in China.

Objectives: Relmacabtagene autoleucel (relma-cel) was recently approved in China for treating relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma (r/r LBCL). We conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis from the perspective of Chinese healthcare system.

Methods: A mixture-cure model was developed to project life-years (LYs), quality-adjusted LYs (QALYs), and overall direct cost with a lifetime horizon for patients with r/r LBCL treated with relma-cel versus salvage chemotherapy.

Fine and coarse particulate air pollution and hospital admissions for a wide range of respiratory diseases: a nationwide case-crossover study.

Background: The associations between fine and coarse particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM2.5-10) air pollution and hospital admissions for full-spectrum respiratory diseases were rarely investigated, especially for age-specific associations.

The impact of preloaded intraocular lens implantation system (TECNIS iTec®) in routine cataract surgery in China: a time-motion analysis.

Objective: To evaluate the impact on surgical efficiency and labor time cost of preloaded intraocular lens (IOL) implantation system compared with manual IOL implantation system in age-related cataract surgery in China.

Methods: This study was an observational, multicenter, prospective time-motion analysis. IOL preparation time, operation time, cleaning time, number and cost of cataract surgeries in eight participating hospitals were collected.

A Cost-effectiveness Analysis of iGlarLixi Versus IDegAsp and Appropriate Price Exploration of iGlarLixi for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients in China.

Background And Objective: The efficacy and safety of iGlarLixi, a fixed-ratio combination (FRC) of basal insulin glargine plus lixisenatide, have been demonstrated in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients. However, no relevant economic analysis of iGlarLixi has been done in China. Thus, the primary objective of this study is to evaluate the cost effectiveness of iGlarLixi versus IDegAsp in Chinese T2DM patients, and then back-calculate the appropriate drug price of iGlarLixi to support its pricing after listing in China.

Evaluation of COVID-19 vaccines in primary prevention against infections and reduction in severity of illness following the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant in Shanghai.

Objectives: To evaluate COVID-19 vaccines in primary prevention against infections and lessen the severity of illness following the most recent outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in Shanghai.

Data Sources: Data from 153,544 COVID-19 patients admitted to the Shanghai "Four-Leaf Clover" Fangcang makeshift shelter hospital were collected using a structured electronic questionnaire, which was then merged with electronic medical records of the hospital. For healthy controls, data on vaccination status and other information were obtained from 228 community-based residents, using the same structured electronic questionnaire.

Clinical and economic benefits of image-guided system in functional endoscopicsinus surgery: a retrospective chart review study in China.

Background: Image-guided system (IGS) has been gradually applied in the field of rhinology, making functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) a truly minimally invasive and precise surgery. This study was based on real-world data from China hospitals and aimed to evaluate the clinical and economic benefits of the IGS navigation system in FESS.

Methods: This was a two-center retrospective chart review of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis who underwent FESS, including open frontal sinus between July 1, 2018 and December 31, 2019 in China.

Ambient heat stress and urolithiasis attacks in China: Implication for climate change.

Background: Although the existing studies have suggested a significant association between high temperatures and urolithiasis, no nationwide studies have quantified the burden attributable to environmental heat stress and explored how the urolithiasis burden would vary in a warming climate.

Methods: We collected data on urolithiasis attacks from 137 hospitals in 59 main cities from 20 provincial regions of China from 2000 to 2020. An individual-level case-crossover analysis was conducted to estimate the effect of daily wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT), a heat stress index combining temperature and humidity, on urolithiasis attacks.

Ambient air pollution and hospitalization for type 2 diabetes in China: A nationwide, individual-level case-crossover study.

Scarce evidence is available on the short-term association between air pollution and type 2 diabetes (T2D). We aimed to evaluate the associations between short-term exposure to six criteria air pollutants and hospitalization for T2D based on a national registry. We conducted an individual-level, time-stratified case-crossover study among inpatients with a primary diagnosis of T2D from 153 hospitals across 20 provincial regions in China (2013-2021).

Real-world treatment patterns and stroke risks among patients with atrial fibrillation in China.

To describe patient characteristics, treatment patterns and stroke risks for patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation (AF) in China. Patients with AF were identified from an electronic medical record database in China (n = 22,535). Less than half of patients (n = 9971; 44.

Comparison of Enterprise stent 2 with 1 in assisting coiling of ruptured aneurysms: a real-world study.

To investigate the effectiveness and safety of the Enterprise 2 (E2) stent versus the Enterprise 1 (E1) stent in treating ruptured intracranial aneurysms (RIAs) in China. The authors conducted an electronic medical record analysis for patients with RIAs who underwent E1/E2 deployment. The main outcomes were immediate complete occlusion (ICO), patient functional outcomes, complications and aneurysm recurrence.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion versus multiple daily insulin for treatment of children with type 1 diabetes.

Objective: To evaluate the health economics of using continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) therapy versus multiple daily injections (MDI) therapy in children and adolescent patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in Qingdao, China.

Methods: A long-term cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted using the IQVIA Core Diabetes Model (CDM). The baseline characteristics of the simulated cohorts were obtained from 213 pediatric T1D patients who received care with CSII(104 cases) or MDI(109 cases) in Qingdao from 1 January 2015 to 31 March 2019.

A head-to-head comparison of the EQ-5D-3L index scores derived from the two EQ-5D-3L value sets for China.

Objective: Two EQ-5D-3L (3L) value sets (developed in 2014 and 2018) co-exist in China. The study examined the level of agreement between index scores for all the 243 health states derived from them at both absolute and relative levels and compared the responsiveness of the two indices.

Methods: Intraclass correlations coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman plot were adopted to assess the degree of agreement between the two indices at the absolute level.