Analysis of cost effectiveness of screening Danish men aged 65 for abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Objective: To assess the cost effectiveness of screening men aged 65 for abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Design: Cost effectiveness analysis based on a probabilistic, enhanced economic decision analytical model from screening to death.

Population And Setting: Hypothetical population of men aged 65 invited (or not invited) for ultrasound screening in the Danish healthcare system.

Is population screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm cost-effective?

Background: Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is responsible for 1-2% of all male deaths over the age of 65 years. Early detection of AAA and elective surgery can reduce the mortality risk associated with AAA. However, many patients will not be diagnosed with AAA and have therefore an increased death risk due to the untreated AAA.

Organisational barriers to thrombolysis treatment of acute ischaemic stroke.

Background: Intravenous thrombolysis with fibrinolytic drugs such as alteplase is not implemented widely in any country although the treatment is both effective and cost-effective in selected patients within a 3-h window after acute ischaemic stroke. The purpose of the present study was to describe the organisational barriers to delivery of thrombolysis for acute ischaemic stroke with special regard to the Danish healthcare system.

Method: Systematic and unsystematic searches of medical, economic and grey literature on organisational barriers to thrombolysis treatment were performed in Cochrane, PubMed, EMBASE, Cinahl, Econlit, NHS EED, SvedMed+ and the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) database.

Cost-effectiveness of intravenous thrombolysis with alteplase within a 3-hour window after acute ischemic stroke.

Background And Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the costs and cost-effectiveness of intravenous thrombolysis treatment with alteplase (Actilyse) of acute ischemic stroke with 24-hour in-house neurology coverage and use of magnetic resonance imaging.

Methods: A health economic model was designed to calculate the marginal cost-effectiveness ratios for time spans of 1, 2, 3 and 30 years. Effect data were extracted from a meta-analysis of six large-scale randomized and placebo-controlled studies of thrombolytic therapy with alteplase.