Publications by authors named "Nicole Stamas"
Regulatory bodies, health technology assessment agencies, payers, physicians, and other decision-makers increasingly recognize the importance of real-world evidence (RWE) to provide important and relevant insights on treatment patterns, burden/cost of illness, product safety, and long-term and comparative effectiveness. However, RWE generation requires a careful approach to ensure rigorous analysis and interpretation. There are limited examples of comprehensive methodology for the generation of RWE on patients who have undergone neuromodulation for drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE).
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- - The study aimed to assess healthcare service usage and costs for patients with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) prior to getting neurostimulators, using a large U.S. claims database from 2012 to 2019.
- - Out of 860 patients studied, many had comorbidities, significant hospitalizations, and multiple physician visits, resulting in high healthcare costs that increased dramatically in the two years leading to implantation.
- - The research highlights that the period before neurostimulator implantation is both lengthy and expensive, indicating a substantial financial burden on DRE patients and the healthcare system.
Purpose: This study examines the impact of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) as treatment for drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) on the use and cost of health care services and pharmacotherapy.
Methods: Using a large US health care claims database, we identified all patients with DRE who underwent VNS between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2019. VNS implantation date was designated as the index date, and patients had to be continuously enrolled for the 24-month period before this date (preindex period).
Article Synopsis
- - The study highlights that timely administration of appropriate antibiotics leads to better patient outcomes and lower healthcare costs compared to delayed treatment, particularly for patients with septic arthritis (SA).
- - Researchers analyzed data from 2017 to 2019 and found that out of 517 SA patients, only 5.0% received delayed appropriate therapy, which significantly impacted their hospital stay and costs.
- - Specifically, delayed therapy resulted in an average increase of 1.1 days of antibiotic use, 1.4 additional days in hospital, and an extra $3531 in costs, while timely therapy correlated with a higher likelihood of antibiotic de-escalation during admission.