Webinar Training: an acceptable, feasible and effective approach for multi-site medical record abstraction: the BOWII experience.

Background: Abstractor training is a key element in creating valid and reliable data collection procedures. The choice between in-person vs. remote or simultaneous vs.

Adherence to controller therapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a review.

Objective: While several studies have examined adherence to controller medications for the treatment of COPD, few systematic reviews have taken the translational step to identifying important and necessary areas for further research. The objective of this study was to review data on the outcomes of adherence to various controller therapies in patients with COPD in an effort to help prescribers understand adherence properties for each therapy.

Research Design And Methods: This is a systematic review of studies investigating adherence to an array of controller pharmaceutical regimens.

Cost-effectiveness of combination fluticasone propionate-salmeterol 250/50 microg versus salmeterol in severe COPD patients.

Objective: To estimate the cost-effectiveness of fluticasone propionate-salmeterol combination (FSC) compared to salmeterol for maintenance therapy in severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Study Design: Pooled economic analysis.

Methods: We performed an economic analysis of pooled data from two randomized clinical trials (combined N = 1554) that evaluated the effect of maintenance therapy with FSC (250/50 microg twice daily) or salmeterol (50 microg twice daily) on exacerbation rates in patients with severe COPD.

A cost-effectiveness analysis of pioglitazone plus metformin compared with rosiglitazone plus metformin from a third-party payer perspective in the US.

Objective: The long-term cost-effectiveness of using pioglitazone plus metformin (Actoplusmet dagger) compared with rosiglitazone plus metformin (Avandamet double dagger) in treating type 2 diabetes (T2DM) was assessed from a US third-party payer perspective.

Research Design And Methods: Clinical efficacy (change in HbA(1c) and lipids) and baseline cohort parameters were extracted from a 12-month, randomized clinical trial (Derosa et al., 2006) evaluating the efficacy and tolerability of pioglitazone versus rosiglitazone, both in addition to metformin, in adult T2DM patients with insufficient glucose control (n = 96).

Health economic comparison between continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion and multiple daily injections of insulin for the treatment of adult type 1 diabetes in Canada.

Background: Patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) may be treated with insulin via multiple daily injections (MDI) or continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII).

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the projected long-term cost-effectiveness of CSII compared with MDI by modeling a simulated sample of adult patients with type 1 DM in Canada.

Methods: A health economic model was used to determine the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of CSII compared with MDI from the perspective of a Canadian provincial government.

Gastroenterologists' prescribing of infliximab for Crohn's disease: a national survey.

Background: Practice guidelines suggest that immunomodulators (IMs) be given prior to infliximab (IFX) in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). The package insert for IFX recommends that maintenance therapy be prescribed for patients who respond to induction therapy. Our aim was to determine the extent to which gastroenterologists (GIs) are utilizing IM prior to IFX and prescribing maintenance IFX when treating patients with CD.

A cost-effectiveness analysis of continuous subcutaneous insulin injection versus multiple daily injections in type 1 diabetes patients: a third-party US payer perspective.

Objective: To estimate the long-term cost-effectiveness of using continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) compared with multiple daily injections (MDI) of insulin in adult and child/young adult type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients from a third-party payer perspective in the United States.

Method: A previously validated health economic model was used to determine the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of CSII compared with MDI using published clinical and cost data. The primary input variable was change in HbA(1c), and was assumed to be an improvement of -0.

Pioglitazone versus rosiglitazone treatment in patients with type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemia: cost-effectiveness in the US.

Objectives: Pioglitazone hydrochloride (Actos † ) and rosiglitazone maleate (Avandia ‡ ) are members of the thiazolidinedione (TZD) class of oral anti-diabetic drugs (OADs) and are used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Greater beneficial effects on lipids have been demonstrated with pioglitazone, however. Study objectives were to evaluate the long-term cost-effectiveness of pioglitazone compared to rosiglitazone in treating patients with T2DM and dyslipidemia, and determine the extent to which reported beneficial lipid effects of pioglitazone would improve clinical and economic outcomes through reduced macrovascular complications.