Clinical outcomes following acute sore throat assessment at community pharmacy versus general practice: a retrospective, longitudinal, data linkage study.

Background: To date, no research has compared longer-term outcomes (antibiotic provision; re-consultations; hospital admissions for quinsy; cost-effectiveness) following presentation with acute sore throat at general practice (GP) versus newer, pharmacy-led services.

Methods: A retrospective, longitudinal cohort study of sore throat consultations between 1 November 2018 and 28 February 2020 either with the Wales pharmacy-led sore throat test and treat (STTT) service or with a healthcare professional at GP. Individual-level pharmacy consultation data from the national Choose Pharmacy IT application were securely uploaded to the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage Databank and linked to routinely collected, anonymized, population-scale, individual-level, anonymized health and administrative data.

Economics of hematopoietic stem cell transplant in immune-mediated neurologic autoimmune diseases.

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) is a therapeutic procedure for autoimmune diseases which suppresses inflammation and resets the immune system, thereby halting disease activity and disability progression in treatment-resistant patients. This chapter reviews existing guidelines and health economic evaluations of AHSCT for multiple sclerosis (MS) and presents a cost-utility analysis from the UK NHS and personal social services perspective comparing AHSCT with disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) in patients with highly active relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) based on the only published randomized controlled trial, "MIST," in this population. Over a 5-year time horizon, AHSCT was dominant (more effective and less costly) over the DMTs in MIST.

Low energy contact X-ray brachytherapy for treatment of rectal cancer: a health technology appraisal by Health Technology Wales.

Aim: Health Technology Wales sought to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of contact X-ray brachytherapy (CXB) for early-stage rectal cancer.

Methods: Relevant studies were identified through systematic searches of MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library and Scopus. A cost-utility model was developed to estimate the cost-effectiveness of CXB in National Health Service Wales, using results of the Organ Preservation in Early Rectal Adenocarcinoma (OPERA) trial.

Effectiveness of tests to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus, and antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, to inform COVID-19 diagnosis: a rapid systematic review.

Objectives: We undertook a rapid systematic review with the aim of identifying evidence that could be used to answer the following research questions: (1) What is the clinical effectiveness of tests that detect the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to inform COVID-19 diagnosis? (2) What is the clinical effectiveness of tests that detect the presence of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 virus to inform COVID-19 diagnosis?

Design And Setting: Systematic review and meta-analysis of studies of diagnostic test accuracy. We systematically searched for all published evidence on the effectiveness of tests for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus, or antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, up to 4 May 2020, and assessed relevant studies for risks of bias using the QUADAS-2 framework.

Main Outcome Measures: Measures of diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity, specificity, positive/negative predictive value) were the main outcomes of interest.

Cost-effectiveness of biennial screening for diabetes related retinopathy in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes compared to annual screening.

Objective: Examine the health and economic impact of extending screening intervals in people with Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and Type 1 diabetes (T1DM) without diabetes-related retinopathy (DR).

Setting: Diabetic Eye Screening Wales (DESW).

Study Design: Retrospective observational study with cost-utility analysis (CUA) and Decremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratios (DCER) study.