A cost-effectiveness analysis of avelumab plus best supportive care versus best supportive care alone as first-line maintenance treatment for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma in Taiwan.

Background: Patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma have limited treatment options and a poor prognosis. The JAVELIN Bladder 100 trial showed that avelumab as first-line maintenance plus best supportive care significantly prolonged overall survival and progression-free survival versus best supportive care alone in patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma that had not progressed with first-line platinum-containing chemotherapy.

Aims: We assessed whether avelumab plus best supportive care is a cost-effective treatment option versus best supportive care alone in this patient group in Taiwan.

Randomized Phase III BMT CTN Trial of Calcineurin Inhibitor-Free Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease Interventions in Myeloablative Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation for Hematologic Malignancies.

Purpose: Calcineurin inhibitors (CNI) are standard components of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). Prior data suggested that CNI-free approaches using donor T-cell depletion, either by ex vivo CD34 selection or in vivo post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) as a single agent, are associated with lower rates of chronic GVHD (cGVHD).

Methods: This multicenter phase III trial randomly assigned patients with acute leukemia or myelodysplasia and an HLA-matched donor to receive CD34-selected peripheral blood stem cell, PTCy after a bone marrow (BM) graft, or tacrolimus and methotrexate after BM graft (control).

Right-sided acute diverticulitis in the West: experience at a university hospital in Argentina.

Purpose: In the West, diverticular disease is located mainly in the left colon. However, it can also present in the right colon, with an incidence of 1% to 2% in Caucasians. The purpose of this study was to describe our experience in right-sided acute diverticulitis (RD).

Systematic literature review of current treatments for stage I-III Merkel cell carcinoma.

There is a need to evaluate current treatments for stages I-III of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). A systematic literature review was conducted to understand how patients with stage I-III MCC are treated and assess efficacy, safety, health-related quality of life and economic impact of current therapies. Embase was searched using the following inclusion criteria: publications from 2014 to 2019, in English, with adult patients (≥18 years) with early-stage MCC (i.

Complex giant incisional hernia repair with intraperitoneal mesh: A case report.

Introduction And Importance: An incisional hernia is one of the most frequent complications after abdominal surgery, with an estimated incidence of 2-20% after midline laparotomy. They are often caused by poor wound healing. We present the case of a complex giant incisional hernia that was repaired by implanting an intraperitoneal mesh.

A cost-utility analysis of avelumab for metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma in Taiwan.

Background: Metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (mMCC) has traditionally been managed with palliative chemotherapy regimens or best supportive care (BSC). Avelumab, a novel anti-programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) human monoclonal antibody for mMCC treatment, is being studied in the pivotal JAVELIN Merkel 200 trial.

Aim: Incorporating trial results, this analysis aimed to evaluate the cost-utility of avelumab in Taiwan.

Metachronous extragastrointestinal stromal tumor (EGIST) in utero: Report of an unusual case.

Introduction: The gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is the most common mesenchymal tumor in the digestive tract. Currently, GIST is the name given to CD117 positive mesenchymal tumors, primary of the digestive tract, mesentery, and retroperitoneum. Nevertheless, they have been reported in the mesentery, omentum, gallbladder, bladder wall, and few cases in the uterus; known as extragastrointestinal stromal tumors (EGIST).

A review of patient-reported outcome measures to assess female infertility-related quality of life.

Background: Infertility has a negative impact on quality of life (QoL) and well-being of affected individuals and couples. A variety of patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures to assess infertility-related QoL are available; however, there is a concern regarding potential issues with their development methodology, validation and use. This review aimed to i) identify PRO measures used in infertility interventional studies ii) assess validation evidence to identify a reliable, valid PRO measure to assess changes in QoL or treatment satisfaction in clinical studies with female patients following treatment with novel therapies iii) identify potential gaps in evidence for validity.

Massive gastrointestinal bleeding in AIDS patients secondary to histoplasma and cytomegalovirus infection.

Introduction: The Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a virus that affects the host and remains latent. When cellular immunity is suppressed, the virus is reactivated and can cause an asymptomatic or devastating infection in immunosuppressed patients. On the other hand, Histoplasmosis is typically a respiratory condition.

Persistent and non-persistent strains of Listeria monocytogenes: A focus on growth kinetics under different temperature, salt, and pH conditions and their sensitivity to sanitizers.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of different conditions, including temperature (37 °C, 22 °C, and 4 °C), NaCl concentrations (2.5%, 4%, and 8%), and acidity (pH = 5), on the growth response of persistent and non-persistent isolates of Listeria monocytogenes. The resistance to two common sanitizers (benzalkonium chloride and hydrogen peroxide) was also investigated.

Treatment satisfaction in type 2 diabetes patients taking empagliflozin compared with patients taking glimepiride.

Purpose: This exploratory analysis assessed and compared patients' treatment satisfaction with empagliflozin plus metformin versus glimepiride plus metformin, using data obtained from the Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire, status version (DTSQs) collected in a randomized, double-blind, double-dummy clinical trial.

Methods: Observed values for DTSQs scale score and each of its eight items were summarized by visit and treatment arm. Changes from baseline in these scores were analyzed using linear mixed models for repeated measures.

Utility estimates for patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus after experiencing a myocardial infarction or stroke: a systematic review.

A systematic review identified studies eliciting utility decrements from myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and examined their use in economic models of new diabetes treatments. In 16 utility studies in patients with T2DM, utility decrements in the first year ranged from 0.017 to 0.

Incremental costs associated with myocardial infarction and stroke in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: an overview for economic modeling.

Objective: To identify cost estimates related to myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) for use in economic models.

Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted. Electronic databases and conference abstracts were screened against inclusion criteria, which included studies performed in patients who had T2DM before experiencing an MI or stroke.

Prevalence of hypertension and obesity in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in observational studies: a systematic literature review.

Background: Hypertension and obesity are known to contribute, directly or indirectly, to the development of long-term complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Knowing the prevalence of these comorbidities is important for determining the size of the population that may benefit from strategies that reduce blood pressure and weight while controlling blood glucose.

Methods: In this systematic literature review, electronic searches of PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were conducted to identify observational studies of hypertension and/or obesity prevalence in patients with T2DM throughout the world.

Modeling hard clinical end-point data in economic analyses.

Objective: The availability of hard clinical end-point data, such as that on cardiovascular (CV) events among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, is increasing, and as a result there is growing interest in using hard end-point data of this type in economic analyses. This study investigated published approaches for modeling hard end-points from clinical trials and evaluated their applicability in health economic models with different disease features.

Methods: A review of cost-effectiveness models of interventions in clinically significant therapeutic areas (CV diseases, cancer, and chronic lower respiratory diseases) was conducted in PubMed and Embase using a defined search strategy.

Preferences for medication attributes among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in the UK.

Aim: To examine preferences for oral medication attributes among participants with early and advanced type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the UK using a discrete choice experiment (DCE).

Methods: A web-based DCE was administered where participants indicated which medication they preferred from two different hypothetical oral anti-diabetic (OAD) medication profiles, each composed of differing levels of seven attributes (efficacy, hypoglycaemic events, weight change, gastrointestinal/nausea side effects, urinary tract infection and genital infection, blood pressure and cardiovascular risk) for 20 sets of pair-wise comparisons. A random effects multinomial logit regression model was used to estimate the preference weight (PW) for each of the attribute levels, and the relative importance (RI) of each attribute was calculated.

[Congenital glycosylation disorders: a study of two patients].

Background: Congenital glycosylation disorders (CGDs) are a group of disorders caused by a defect in glycoprotein synthesis. Clinical manifestations may affect to different organs.

Aims: To describe two new patients cases with a CGD in order to make paediatricians aware of this disorder.

[Cost-effectiveness of the combination therapy of dutasteride and tamsulosin in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperlasia in Spain].

Objectives: to evaluate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of the combination therapy with dutasteride and tamsulosin (DUT+TAM) as initiation treatment versus the most used drug in Spain, tamsulosin (TAM), in the treatment of moderate to severe benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with risk of progression.

Methods: a semi-Markov model was developed using 4-year and 35-year time horizons and from the Spanish National Healthcare Service perspective. Data were obtained from the CombAT trial.