Background: The recently launched nucleotide polymerase inhibitor sofosbuvir represents a significant turn in the treatment paradigm of chronic hepatitis C. While effective, sofosbuvir is also associated with a considerable cost.
Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the cost effectiveness of sofosbuvir-containing regimens in treatment-naive patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 5 (HCV-G5) mono-infection in South Africa (SA).
Design: We constructed a lifetime horizon decision-analytic Markov model of the natural history of HCV infection to evaluate the cost effectiveness of sofosbuvir-ledipasvir (SOF/LDV) monotherapy against sofosbuvir triple therapy (SOF-TT) (sofosbuvir + pegylated interferon and ribavirin [peg-INF/RBV]) and the current standard of care (SOC) (peg-INF/RBV) for patients with chronic HCV-G5 in the South African context. The model was populated with data from published literature, expert opinion and South African private sector cost data. The price modelled for sofosbuvir was the predicted South African private sector price of 82,129.32 South African rand (R) (US$7000) for 12 weeks. The analysis was conducted from a third-party payer perspective.
Outcome Measures: The outcome measures were discounted and undiscounted costs (in 2015 South African rand and US dollars) and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs).
Results: Outcomes from the cost-effectiveness model show that SOF/LDV yields the most favourable future health economic outcomes compared with SOF-TT and the current SOC in SA. Findings relating to the lifetime incremental cost per QALY gained for patients infected with HCV-G5 indicate that SOF/LDV dominated both SOF-TT and SOC, i.e. SOF/LDV is less costly and more effective.
Conclusion: Outcomes from this analysis suggest that at a price of R123,190 ($US10,500) for 12 weeks of SOF/LDV might be cost effective for South African patients infected with HCV-G5.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40273-015-0356-x | DOI Listing |
Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther
January 2025
Pathogenic Yeast Research Group, Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Introduction: There is a rise in antifungal resistance as well as the emergence of multidrug resistant fungal pathogens worldwide, including in Africa.
Method: This systematic review summarized the published data on the mechanisms and epidemiology of antifungal resistance in species in Africa between 2000 and early 2024.
Result: Seventeen reports from seven African countries were analyzed but due to the paucity of data, the prevalence of antifungal resistant isolates in Africa could not be estimated.
Nat Genet
January 2025
Division of Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
Genome-wide association studies have identified approximately 200 genetic risk loci for breast cancer, but the causal variants and target genes are mostly unknown. We sought to fine-map all known breast cancer risk loci using genome-wide association study data from 172,737 female breast cancer cases and 242,009 controls of African, Asian and European ancestry. We identified 332 independent association signals for breast cancer risk, including 131 signals not reported previously, and for 50 of them, we narrowed the credible causal variants down to a single variant.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Neurosurg Spine
January 2025
2Department of Neurosurgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama.
Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of neighborhood-level and individual-level measures of socioeconomic status with readmission, complication rates, and postoperative length of stay of patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) in the Deep South.
Methods: The authors identified all patients undergoing surgical intervention for the treatment of CSM from November 2010 to February 2022 using Current Procedural Terminology and ICD-9/ICD-10 codes. Patient demographic, socioeconomic, perioperative, and postoperative data for each patient were collected via review of the electronic medical record.
Chem Biodivers
January 2025
Physics Department, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (Unité Mixte de Recherche 6283), Institut des Molécules et Matériaux du Mans, Le Mans Université, Le Mans, France.
This study presents, for the first time, the comparison of behavior between two commonly found plant species, their extracts, and their major constituents (glucose and sucrose constituting over 70% of their dried extract) to synthesize zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) from zinc nitrate hexahydrate. The findings underscore the critical role of sugars as key constituents in facilitating this synthesis. This research demonstrates that the process can occur at relatively low temperatures (120°C).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
January 2025
School of Nursing and Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Howard College Campus, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.
Vector resistance, human population movement, and cross-border malaria continue to pose a threat to the attainment of malaria elimination goals. Border malaria is prominent in border regions characterised by poor access to health services, remoteness, and vector abundance. Human socio-economic behaviour, vectoral behaviour, access and use of protective methods, age, sex, and occupation have been identified in non-border regions as key predictors for malaria.
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