The effect of sample site and collection procedure on identification of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Background: Sample collection is a key driver of accuracy in the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Viral load may vary at different anatomical sampling sites and accuracy may be compromised by difficulties obtaining specimens and the expertise of the person taking the sample. It is important to optimise sampling accuracy within cost, safety and accessibility constraints.

How can managed entry agreements contribute to coverage decisions in Latin America?

Context: Healthcare stakeholders in Latin America, including payers, manufacturers, and patients, seek to expedite access to technologies. However, uncertainty sometimes surrounds their true benefits and budgetary implications. Managed entry agreements (MEAs) are proposed to address this uncertainty by redistributing risks among key actors.

INEAS's Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Vemurafenib: Paving the Way for Value-Based Pricing in Tunisia.

The Tunisian Health Technology Assessment (HTA) body, INEAS, conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) of vemurafenib in the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic BRAF V600-mutated melanoma. The objective of this analysis was to enable the use of value-based pricing as a new approach to price negotiation. This study was part of a broader HTA report that was prepared in response to a joint request from the regulatory authorities and the CNAM, Tunisia's compulsory insurance scheme.

Parent Views on Parent and Child-reported Outcomes in Pediatric Advanced Cancer: A Qualitative Study.

Background: Research on concurrent parent and patient-reported outcomes has primarily focused on reaching agreement. However, little is known about how to interpret and address discrepancies, which are not uncommon, between both viewpoints.

Objectives: To explore parents' perspectives on reporting about child symptoms and quality of life (QoL) concurrently with their child in the context of pediatric advanced cancer.

Smartphone use by children in fast food restaurants in Barcelona (Spain): a direct observation study.

Objective: To explore the use of smartphones at mealtimes by children in fast food restaurants in the city of Barcelona and to assess the variables associated with this use.

Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out. Data from 1616 children of estimated ages between 4 to 10 years were collected in fast-food restaurants in the ten districts of Barcelona between October 2021 and July 2022.

Patient Experience of Herpes Zoster Disease in Argentina: Validation of a Health-Related Quality of Life Conceptual Model.

Objectives: Herpes zoster (HZ) substantially affects patients' health-related quality of life (HRQoL), both in the acute phase and also in those developing postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). Building upon a previous qualitative concept elicitation study in Canada, we adopted a similar approach to further understand the patient experience of HZ/PHN in Argentina and impact on quality of life and qualitatively validate the previously published conceptual model for Argentina.

Methods: (1) Comprehensive literature review of HZ impact on HRQoL in Latin America.

Budget impact and cost per responder analysis of upadacitinib for the treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis from the perspective of the social security and the private sector in Argentina.

Objectives: Our study assessed the budget impact and cost per responder of upadacitinib15mg and 30 mg for moderate to severe atopic dermatitis (MS-AD) treatment from social security and private health sector perspective in Argentina.

Methods: A budget impact model was adapted to depict clinical and economic aspects of treatment over a 5-years horizon time. Scenario analyses and deterministic sensitivity analyses were performed.

Unlocking the power of tobacco taxation to mitigate the social costs of smoking in Mexico: a microsimulation model.

Despite being the most cost-effective tobacco control policy, tobacco taxation is the least implemented component of the World Health Organization MPOWER package to reduce smoking worldwide. In Mexico, both smoking prevalence and taxation have remained stable for more than a decade. This study aims to provide evidence about the potential effects of taxation to reduce the burden of tobacco-related diseases and the main attributable social costs in Mexico, including informal (unpaid) care costs, which are frequently ignored.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Argentina: unveiling the burden of treatment through patient and caregiver perspectives.

Purpose: To examine the burden of treatment (BoT) experienced by people with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in Argentina.

Methods: Qualitative methodological design based on semi-structured interviews. Nineteen semi-structured interviews were conducted (PwALS = 7, informal caregivers= 12).

Safety and Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccines During Pregnancy: A Living Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Pregnant persons are susceptible to significant complications following COVID-19, even death. However, worldwide COVID-19 vaccination coverage during pregnancy remains suboptimal.

Objective: This study assessed the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines administered to pregnant persons and shared this evidence via an interactive online website.

Budget Impact Analysis of Olaparib for the Management of Patients with Homologous Recombination Repair (HRR)-Mutated Castration-Resistant Metastatic Prostate Cancer in Argentina.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to perform a budget impact analysis (BIA) of introducing olaparib treatment for adult patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer in Argentina.

Methods: A BIA model was used to estimate the cost difference between the current scenario (without olaparib) and the new scenario (incorporation of olaparib) for a third-party payer over a 5-year time horizon. The budgetary impact is estimated at the national health system level and by healthcare sectors in Argentina.

Neonatal jaundice incidence, risk factors and outcomes in referral-level facilities in Nigeria.

Objective: To determine the incidence, risk factors and outcomes of babies with neonatal jaundice in a network of referral-level hospitals in Nigeria.

Design: A cross-sectional analysis of perinatal data collected over a 1-year period.

Setting: Fifty-four referral-level hospitals (48 public and 6 private) across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.

Budget Impact Analysis of Olaparib in Combination with Bevacizumab for Maintenance Therapy for Ovarian Cancer in Argentina.

Objectives: To perform a budget impact analysis (BIA) of introducing olaparib as maintenance therapy in women who have BRCA mutations (BRCAm) with platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer (PSROC) in combination with bevacizumab in Argentina.

Methods: A BIA model was used to analyse over a 5-year time horizon the change in the health system's budget following the adoption of olaparib as maintenance therapy in BRCAm patients with PSROC. The BIA for each year was estimated by comparing the cost difference between the current scenario (treatment with bevacizumab) and the new scenario (the addition of olaparib) for a third-party payer.

Trastuzumab-emtansine versus other anti-HER2 regimens in early or unresectable or metastatic HER-2 positive breast cancer: systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Objective.: Motivation for the study. Treatment options for HER2-positive breast cancer were evaluated, focusing on the efficacy and safety of trastuzumab-emtansine (T-DM1) compared to other anti-HER2 therapies.

Lung cancer in Argentina: a modelling study of disease and economic burden.

Objectives: Lung cancer remains a significant global public health challenge and is still one of the leading causes of cancer-related death in Argentina. This study aims to assess the disease and economic burden of lung cancer in the country.

Study Design: Burden of disease study.

Calcium supplementation for people with overweight or obesity.

Background: Obesity is a major health problem worldwide as it can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and insulin resistance. The prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing worldwide across different age groups. There is evidence of an inverse relationship between calcium intake and body weight.

Pediatric COVID-19 in Argentina: a comprehensive analysis of disease and economic burden through official data and a systematic literature review.

Background: Limited data are available on the clinical impact and economic burden of COVID-19 in the pediatric population in Argentina. We aimed to estimate the disease and economic burden of COVID-19 on children and adolescents.

Methods: We analyzed official national databases and conducted a supplemental systematic review of the published literature with meta-analysis in children aged 0-18.

Prevalence, perinatal outcomes and factors associated with neonatal sepsis in Nigeria.

Objective: To examine the prevalence, perinatal outcomes and factors associated with neonatal sepsis in referral-level facilities across Nigeria.

Design: Secondary analysis of data from the Maternal and Perinatal Database for Quality, Equity and Dignity Programme in 54 referral-level hospitals across Nigeria.

Setting: Records covering the period from 1 September 2019 to 31 August 2020.

Outcomes and quality of care for women and their babies after caesarean section in Nigeria.

Objective: To describe the outcomes and quality of care for women and their babies after caesarean section (CS) in Nigerian referral-level hospitals.

Design: Secondary analysis of a nationwide cross-sectional study.

Setting: Fifty-four referral-level hospitals.

Incidence, predictors and immediate neonatal outcomes of birth asphyxia in Nigeria.

Objective: To determine the incidence and sociodemographic and clinical risk factors associated with birth asphyxia and the immediate neonatal outcomes of birth asphyxia in Nigeria.

Design: Secondary analysis of data from the Maternal and Perinatal Database for Quality, Equity and Dignity Programme.

Setting: Fifty-four consenting referral-level hospitals (48 public and six private) across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.