An economic evaluation of vagus nerve stimulation as an adjunctive treatment to anti-seizure medications for the treatment of drug resistant epilepsy in the United States.

Introduction: People with recurrent epileptic seizures are typically treated with anti-seizure medications (ASMs). Around a third of epilepsy patients fail to achieve an adequate response to ASMs and may be eligible to receive vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) therapy for their drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) if they are unsuited to surgery. VNS received approval from the United States (US) Food and Drug Administration agency.

An economic evaluation of vagus nerve stimulation as an adjunctive treatment to anti-seizure medications for the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy in England.

Introduction: Anti-seizure medications (ASMs) are commonly used to prevent recurring epileptic seizures, but around a third of people with epilepsy fail to achieve an adequate response. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is clinically recommended for people with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) who are not suitable for surgery, but the cost-effectiveness of the intervention has not recently been evaluated. The study objective is to estimate costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) associated with using VNS as an adjunct to ongoing ASM therapy, compared to the strategy of using only ASMs in the treatment of people with DRE, from an English National Health Service perspective.

Exploratory cost-effectiveness model of electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (ENB) compared with CT-guided biopsy (TTNA) for diagnosis of malignant indeterminate peripheral pulmonary nodules.

Introduction: Lung cancer is accountable for 35 000 deaths annually, and prognosis is improved when the cancer is diagnosed early. CT-guided biopsy (transthoracic needle aspiration, TTNA) and electromagnetic navigation bronchoscopy (ENB) can be used to investigate indeterminate pulmonary nodules if the patient is unfit for surgery. However, there is a paucity of clinical and health economic evidence that directly compares ENB with TTNA in this population group.

Genomic Surveillance of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: A Mathematical Early Modeling Study of Cost-effectiveness.

Background: Genomic surveillance of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) identifies unsuspected transmission events and outbreaks. Used proactively, this could direct early and highly targeted infection control interventions to prevent ongoing spread. Here, we evaluated the cost-effectiveness of this intervention in a model that compared whole-genome sequencing plus current practice versus current practice alone.

A cost-effectiveness analysis of endoscopic eradication therapy for management of dysplasia arising in patients with Barrett's oesophagus in the United Kingdom.

Background And Aims: Endoscopic eradication therapy (EET) is the first line approach for treating Barrett's oesophagus (BE) related neoplasia globally. The British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) recommend EET with combined endoscopic resection (ER) for visible dysplasia followed by endoscopic ablation in patients with both low and high grade dysplasia (LGD and HGD). The aim of this study is to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis for EET for treatment of all grades of dysplasia in BE patients.

Conceptualising global health: theoretical issues and their relevance for teaching.

Background: There has long been debate around the definition of the field of education, research and practice known as global health. In this article we step back from attempts at definition and instead ask what current definitions tell us about the evolution of the field, identifying gaps and points of debate and using these to inform discussions of how global health might be taught.

Discussion: What we now know as global health has its roots in the late 19(th) century, in the largely colonial, biomedical pursuit of 'international health'.

The evolution of global health teaching in undergraduate medical curricula.

Background: Since the early 1990s there has been a burgeoning interest in global health teaching in undergraduate medical curricula. In this article we trace the evolution of this teaching and present recommendations for how the discipline might develop in future years.

Discussion: Undergraduate global health teaching has seen a marked growth over the past ten years, partly as a response to student demand and partly due to increasing globalization, cross-border movement of pathogens and international migration of health care workers.