Horizontal healthcare utilization inequity in patients with rare diseases in Korea.

Background: Rare diseases (RDs) are difficult to diagnose and expensive to treat. Thus, the South Korean government has implemented several policies to help RD patients, including the Medical Expense Support Project, supporting low- to middle-income RD patients. However, no study in Korea has yet addressed health inequity in RD patients.

Cost-Effectiveness of Extending the National Influenza Vaccination Program in South Korea: Does Vaccination of Older Adults Provide Health Benefits to the Entire Population?

The South Korean government has successfully improved influenza vaccination coverage for individuals aged 65 years or older as part of its National Immunization Program (NIP). Those aged 50-64 years without funded vaccination care have significantly lower vaccination rates and face a substantial risk of influenza-related complications. We use a dynamic epidemiological and economic model to investigate the cost-effectiveness of expanding the universal vaccine fund to include those aged 50-64.

Cost-Effectiveness of Influenza Vaccination Strategies in Adults: Older Adults Aged ≥65 Years, Adults Aged 50-64 Years, and At-Risk Adults Aged 19-64 Years.

The high disease burden of influenza in elderly and chronically ill adults may be due to the suboptimal effectiveness and mismatch of the conventional trivalent influenza vaccine (TIV). This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of quadrivalent (QIV), adjuvanted trivalent (ATIV), and high-dose quadrivalent (HD-QIV) vaccines versus TIV used under the current Korean National Immunization Program (NIP) in older adults aged ≥65 years. We also evaluated the cost-effectiveness of programs for at-risk adults aged 19-64 and adults aged 50-64.

Validity of EQ-5D utility index and minimal clinically important difference estimation among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: The discriminatory ability of multi-attribute utility (MAU) measures compared to condition-specific measures (CSM) in assessing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an unsettled issue. This study investigated the quality of life of patients with COPD with three different HRQoL instruments and examined whether they could differentiate between adjacent severity groups in a statistically and clinically meaningful manner. In the process, the minimal clinically important differences (MCID) of the EQ-5D utility index were estimated.

Increasing Prevalence and Mortality of Asthma With Age in Korea, 2002-2015: A Nationwide, Population-Based Study.

Purpose: The prevalence of asthma is increasing globally as the world population increases; however, and the prevalence and mortality of asthma have not been extensively investigated. Also, the effects of severity and aging on asthma prevalence and mortality are unknown. We aimed to investigate trends of the prevalence and mortality of asthma as well as health care uses and costs over 14 years according to disease severity by using real-world data in Korea.

Mapping analysis to estimate EQ-5D utility values using the COPD assessment test in Korea.

Background: There is no research on mapping algorithms between EQ-5D and COPD assessment test (CAT) in Korea. The purpose of this study was to develop mapping algorithms that predict EQ-5D-3 L utility from the CAT in patients with COPD.

Methods: Survey data of 300 COPD patients were collected from three tertiary teaching hospitals in Korea.

Cost-effectiveness of influenza vaccine strategies for the elderly in South Korea.

Objectives: Despite a high vaccine uptake rate of over 80% in South Korea, the disease burden of influenza is still high among the elderly, which may be due to low effectiveness of vaccines. Therefore, the cost-effectiveness of use among the elderly was analyzed in order to compare the current trivalent influenza vaccine (TIV) with a quadrivalent influenza vaccine (QIV) or MF59-adjuvanted trivalent influenza vaccine (ATIV).

Methods: A static lifetime Markov model was used.

Easy cuts, easy rebound: Drug expenditures with massive price cuts in Korea.

Backgrounds: Since 2012, the Korean government has introduced 46.5% price cut for off-patent medicines in order to reign everescalating drug expenditure. This study sought to appraise the impact of the price cut measure (in the context of Korean National Health Insurance system).

Economic Evaluation of Companion Diagnostic Testing for EGFR Mutations and First-Line Targeted Therapy in Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients in South Korea.

Background: As targeted therapy becomes increasingly important, diagnostic techniques for identifying targeted biomarkers have also become an emerging issue. The study aims to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of treating patients as guided by epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation status compared with a no-testing strategy that is the current clinical practice in South Korea.

Methods: A cost-utility analysis was conducted to compare an EGFR mutation testing strategy with a no-testing strategy from the Korean healthcare payer's perspective.

Cost-effectiveness of vortioxetine versus venlafaxine (extended release) in the treatment of major depressive disorder in South Korea.

Objective: To assess the cost-effectiveness of vortioxetine versus venlafaxine XR (extended-release) in major depressive disorder (MDD) patients in South Korea.

Methods: A 1-year cost-effectiveness analysis from a limited societal perspective was performed using a combined model consisting of a decision-tree and a Markov model. Patients entered the model when initiating or switching antidepressant treatment following inadequate response to previous treatment.

Cost-utility of ferric carboxymaltose (Ferinject®) for iron-deficiency anemia patients with chronic heart failure in South Korea.

Background: Iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) is prevalent in patients with advanced chronic heart failure (CHF). It affects the patients' overall physical condition and is suggested as a strong outcome predictor in CHF. Recent clinical trials suggested that intravenous iron supplementation improves CHF functional status and quality of life.

Is the Cross-sectional Area after Unilateral Open Door Laminoplasty Wider than that after Midline Splitting Laminoplasty ? : Mathematical Approach.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare geometrically cross-sectional areas of two different laminoplasty techniques in same opening size. Some investigators have studied the expanded areas of the two different techniques using imaging study. Although it is unclear that postoperative spinal canal is correlated with the surgical outcome we just focused on mathematical and geometrical correlation of the expandable area with surgical opening size in different laminoplasty techniques.

Recurrence Rate after Herniotomy only versus Discectomy in Lumbar Disc Herniation.

Objective: Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) recurrence necessitating reoperation can pose problems following spinal surgery, with an overall reported incidence of approximately (3-13%). The purpose of this study is to identify the rate of recurrent disc herniation, to discuss the radiologic indications for herniotomy and to analyze clinical outcomes compared with conventional discectomy.

Methods: This study is a retrospective case control study.

Analysis on relationship between the accident and injury occurrence and the absence appearance of adults in South Korea.

The purpose of this study is to examine relationship between the accident and injury occurrence and the absence appearance in adults. Materials of this study were based on the raw data of "Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011", which was conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MW) and Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2011. Totally 5904 people were targeted by selecting data without missing value in addition to age in more than 20 years old.

Diverse influences of androgen-disrupting chemicals on immune responses mounted by macrophages.

Androgen-disrupting chemicals (ADCs) can alter male sexual development. Although the effects of ADCs on hormone disruption have been studied, their influence on the immune response is not fully understood. To investigate the effects of ADCs on innate immunity, we tested eight candidate ADCs for their influence on macrophages by measuring nitric oxide (NO) production and cell viability.

Eliciting public preference for health-care resource allocation in South Korea.

Objectives: To identify the principles the public considers important and the trade-offs between different values in health-care resource allocation practices.

Methods: This study approached the issue in both qualitative and quantitative ways. In a qualitative study, two focus groups discussed the issues of resource allocation in health care.

[Current state and challenges of pharmacoeconomic evaluation in Korea].

Since the positive listing system for prescription drug reimbursement has been introduced in Korea, the number of pharmacoeconomic evaluation studies has increased. However it is not clear if the quality of pharmacoeconomic evaluation study has improved. Due to the lack of randomized clinical studies in Korean health care setting, Korean economic evaluation studies have typically integrated the local cost data and foreign clinical data.