Costs of physician and diagnostic imaging services for shoulder, knee, and low back pain conditions: A population-based study in Alberta, Canada.

Objectives: To 1) estimate the utilization and costs of physician and diagnostic imaging (DI) services for shoulder, knee, and low-back pain (LBP) conditions; and 2) examine determinants of the utilization and costs of these services.

Methods: All patients visiting a physician for shoulder, knee, or LBP conditions (identified by the ICD-9 codes) in Alberta, Canada, in fiscal year (FY) 2022/2023 were included. Interested outcomes included numbers and costs of physician visits and DI exams stratified by condition, physician specialty, DI modality, and patients' sex and age.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mortality and health services utilization costs of patients diagnosed with lung cancer.

Introduction: Healthcare service disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic may have caused worse health outcomes and resulted in more expensive treatments for patients diagnosed with lung cancer in Alberta, Canada.

Methods: A population-based retrospective cohort design was used to compare 1-year survival, mortality, and health services utilization costs of patients diagnosed with lung cancer pre- (March 17th, 2018 to March 16th, 2019), intra- (March 17th, 2020 to March 16th, 2021), and post-pandemic (March 17th, 2021 to March 16th, 2022). Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regressions were used for estimating survival and hazard ratios.

Increased Virtual Visits to Physicians During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Estimated Impact on Physician Compensation: The Case of Lung and Colorectal Cancers, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases, and Heart Failure in Alberta, Canada.

The COVID-19 pandemic started in Alberta in March 2020 and significantly increased telehealth service use and provision reducing the risk of virus transmission. We examined the change in the number and proportion of virtual visits by physician specialty and condition (chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases [COPD], heart failure [HF], colorectal and lung cancers), as well as associated changes in physician compensation. A population-based design was used to analyze all processed physician claims comparing the number and proportion of virtual visits and associated physician billings relative to in-person between pre- (2019/2020) and intra-pandemic (2020/2021).

Treated versus self-reported prevalence of chronic pain and costs of patients' health services utilization: a population-based study of health administrative databases.

Objectives: To compare treated to self-reported prevalence of chronic pain (CP) and to estimate health services utilization (HSU) costs of patients treated for CP in Alberta, Canada.

Methods: Patients treated for CP were identified by the physician billing codes of health services for CP from the practitioner claims database in fiscal year 2021/22. The treated prevalence of CP (number of these patients divided by the population) was compared to the self-reported prevalence of CP previously estimated (doi:10.

Health Care Utilization and Costs in Lung Cancer Screening Participants-A Propensity-Matched Economic Analysis.

Introduction: Lung cancer screening (LCS) for high-risk populations has been firmly established to reduce lung cancer mortality, but concerns exist regarding unintended downstream costs.

Methods: Mean health care utilization and costs were compared in the Alberta Lung Cancer Screening Study in a cohort undergoing LCS versus a propensity-matched control group who did not.

Results: A cohort of 651 LCS participants was matched to 336 unscreened controls.

Impact of interventions on the quality of life of cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal research.

The impact of cancer interventions has been conducted in several research due to the significant burden of this non-communicable disease. The interventions that played an important role in the improvement of the patient's quality of life (QoL) and health-related quality of life (HRQL) can be classified into two main groups: pharmaceutical and non-pharmacological methods. However, studies so far often analyze a specific group of interventions for specific types of cancer.

Average lifespan shortened due to cancer in selected countries of North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania, 2006 and 2016.

Purpose: We applied a novel measure of average lifespan shortened (ALSS) to examine changes in lifespan among patients who died of cancer over a 10-year period from 2006 to 2016 in 20 selected high-income countries from North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.

Methods: We retrieved cancer deaths in each country from the World Health Organization mortality database. We calculated ALSS as a ratio of years of life lost to the expected lifespan among patients who died from cancer.

Global Mapping of Interventions to Improve Quality of Life of Patients with Cancer: A Protocol for Literature Mining and Meta-Analysis.

Cancer led to nearly 10 million deaths in 2020, as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO). Consequently, both biomedical therapeutics and psychological interventions have been implemented to decrease the burden of this non-communicable disease. However, the research conducted so far has only described some aspects of these interventions, which may increase the health-related quality of life of cancer patients.

Economic burden of chronic pain in Alberta, Canada.

Background: Although chronic pain (CP) is common, little is known about its economic burden in Alberta, Canada.

Aims: To estimate incremental (as compared to the general population or people without CP) societal (healthcare and lost productivity) costs of CP in Alberta.

Methods: We applied the prevalence estimated from the Canadian Community Health Survey data to the population retrieved from the Statistics Canada to estimate the number of people with CP in Alberta in 2019.

Expected Cost Savings From Low-Dose Computed Tomography Scan Screening for Lung Cancer in Alberta, Canada.

Introduction: The expensive modern therapeutic regimens for advanced lung cancer (LC) stages have been recently approved. We evaluated whether low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) LC screening of high-risk Albertans is cost saving.

Methods: We used a decision analytical modeling technique with a health system perspective and a time horizon of 3 years to compare benefits associated with reduced health service utilization (HSU) from earlier diagnosis to the costs of screening.

Return on Investment in Endovascular Care: The Case of Endovascular Reperfusion Alberta.

Objective: We examined the return on investment (ROI) from the Endovascular Reperfusion Alberta (ERA) project, a provincially funded population-wide strategy to improve access to endovascular therapy (EVT), to inform policy regarding sustainability.

Methods: We calculated net benefit (NB) as benefit minus cost and ROI as benefit divided by cost. Patients treated with EVT and their controls were identified from the ESCAPE trial.

Emergency endoscopic surgery for pituitary apoplexy presenting as cerebral infarction in a limited resources condition: A case report.

Introduction And Importance: Pituitary apoplexy is defined as a sudden onset of neurologic deficit due to infarction or hemorrhage of the pituitary tumor. We report a case of emergency endoscopic surgery for pituitary apoplexy presenting as cerebral infarction due to ICA compression in a limited resources condition.

Case Presentation: A 38-year-old female presented with acute onset of severe headache, decreased level of consciousness, decreased visual acuity bilaterally, aphasia, and right hemiparesis.

The impact of COVID-19 on hospital admissions and emergency department visits: A population-based study.

Background: As a result of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), there have been widespread changes in healthcare access. We conducted a retrospective population-based study in Alberta, Canada (population 4.4 million), where there have been approximately 1550 hospital admissions for COVID-19, to determine the impact of COVID-19 on hospital admissions and emergency department (ED visits), following initiation of a public health emergency act on March 15, 2020.

Average Lifespan Shortened due to Stroke in Canada: A Nationwide Descriptive Study From 1990 to 2015.

Background And Purpose: There are challenges in comparability when using existing life lost measures to examine long-term trends in premature mortality. To address this important issue, we have developed a novel measure termed average lifespan shortened (ALSS). In the present study, we used the ALSS measure to describe temporal changes in premature mortality due to stroke in the Canadian population from 1990 to 2015.

The Association Between Femoral Artery Intima-Media Thickness and Serum Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Levels Among Newly Diagnosed Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Introduction: Endothelium dysfunction and decrease of incretin effects occur early in type 2 diabetes mellitus and these changes contribute to diabetic cardiovascular complications such as atherosclerosis, thick intima-media, coronary, and peripheral arterial diseases. In patients with diabetes, the femoral artery is a site of a high incidence of injury in peripheral vascular diseases, and atherosclerotic changes may appear earlier in the femoral artery compared to the carotid artery. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of increased femoral artery intima-media thickness (IMT) and atherosclerotic plaque and their correlation with serum glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) levels in newly-diagnosed patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Gross profits of Canadian pharmacies: A changing policy regime.

Recently, both the Canadian and provincial governments have instituted policies to reduce manufacturers' prices for generic ($250 million sales annually) and brand name ($1,300 million sales annually) drugs. Both government groups made estimates of the financial magnitude of changes in drug prices, but neither has estimated the impact on retail pharmacies. We used a Cost-Volume-Profit model combined with operational data collected nationally to estimate the national impact of the pricing policy changes on pharmacy gross profits.

Sensitivity and specificity of a commercial urinary ethyl glucuronide (ETG) test in heavy drinkers.

Introduction: To advance the use of alcohol metabolites as biomarkers in the context of alcohol research, the present study tested the sensitivity and specificity of a commercially available urinary ethyl glucuronide (uEtG) test (DrugConfirm Advanced 80hr EtG) in a clinical research context.

Methods: A community sample of heavy drinkers (N = 68) completed the 30-day Timeline Follow-Back (TLFB) interview and provided a urine sample for uEtG analysis. Analyses of sensitivity and specificity of the uEtG assay were conducted using the following outcomes: (a) past day drinking, (b) past day binge drinking (defined as ≥4 drinks for women and ≥5 drinks for men), (c) past 3-day drinking, and (d) past 3-day binge drinking.

Sequestration of Cetyltrimethylammonium Bromide on Gold Nanorods by Human Serum Albumin Causes Its Conformation Change.

Serum albumin could potentially be exploited to form a protein corona on gold nanorods (AuNRs) for drug delivery because of its endogenous functionality as a small molecule carrier. However, the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant, which is a synthesis byproduct passivating AuNRs to confer colloidal stability, could also cause its conformational change upon interaction with serum albumin during the process of corona formation, thus altering its biological functions. Unfortunately, a clear understanding of how exactly human serum albumin (HSA) would change its conformation as it interacts with AuNR-CTAB is presently lacking.

Comparative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness analysis of a urine metabolomics test vs. alternative colorectal cancer screening strategies.

Purpose: Despite the success of provincial screening programs, colorectal cancer (CRC) is still the third most common cancer in Canada and the second most common cause of cancer-related death. Fecal-based tests, such as fecal occult blood test (FOBT) and fecal immunochemical test (FIT), form the foundation of the provincial CRC screening programs in Canada. However, those tests have low sensitivity for CRC precursors, adenomatous polyps and have low adherence.

Corrigendum to "Cost-Effectiveness of the Aerobika® Oscillating Positive Expiratory Pressure Device in the Management of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Exacerbations in Canada".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2019/9176504.].

Cost-Effectiveness of the Aerobika® Oscillating Positive Expiratory Pressure Device in the Management of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Exacerbations in Canada.

Background: The Aerobika® oscillating positive expiratory pressure (OPEP) device is a hand-held, drug-free medical device that has been shown to improve lung function and improve health-related quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We estimated the cost-effectiveness of this device among postexacerbation COPD patients in the Canadian healthcare system.

Methods: We performed a cost-utility analysis using a Markov model to compare both costs and outcome of patients with COPD who had recently experienced an exacerbation between 2 treatment arms: patients who used the Aerobika® device and patients who did not use the Aerobika® device.

Population Pharmacokinetic Properties of Piperaquine in Falciparum Malaria: An Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis.

Background: Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) are the mainstay of the current treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria, but ACT resistance is spreading across Southeast Asia. Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine is one of the five ACTs currently recommended by the World Health Organization. Previous studies suggest that young children (<5 y) with malaria are under-dosed.

The economic burden of inadequate consumption of vegetables and fruit in Canada.

Objective: Public health decision makers not only consider health benefits but also economic implications when articulating and issuing lifestyle recommendations. Whereas various estimates exist for the economic burden of physical inactivity, excess body weight and smoking, estimates of the economic burden associated with our diet are rare. In the present study, we estimated the economic burden attributable to the inadequate consumption of vegetables and fruit in Canada.

Real-Life Treatment Paradigms Show Adalimumab Is Cost-Effective for the Management of Ulcerative Colitis.

. Adalimumab is effective for the maintenance of remission in patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis (UC). Currently, biologic therapies are used in cases where patients fail conventional medical therapies.

In Vivo Efficacy and Tolerability of Artesunate-Azithromycin for the Treatment of Falciparum Malaria in Vietnam.

Safe and effective antimalarial drugs are required for the treatment of pregnant women. We report a 3-day regimen of artesunate (4 mg/kg/day)-azithromycin (25 mg/kg/day) (ASAZ) to be efficacious (polymerase chain reaction-corrected cure rate of 96.7%) and well tolerated in the treatment of Plasmodium falciparum malaria in children (N = 11) and adults (N = 19), in Vietnam in 2010.