Validation of economic and health outcomes simulation model of type 2 diabetes mellitus (ECHO-T2DM).

Objective: This study constructed the Economic and Health Outcomes Model for type 2 diabetes mellitus (ECHO-T2DM), a long-term stochastic microsimulation model, to predict the costs and health outcomes in patients with T2DM. Naturally, the usefulness of the model depends upon its predictive accuracy. The objective of this work is to present results of a formal validation exercise of ECHO-T2DM.

Costs and quality of life in multiple sclerosis patients with spasticity.

Background: The resource use and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) spasticity are not well known. The purpose of this study was to obtain estimates of resource utilization, costs, and HRQoL, for patients with different levels of MS spasticity in southern Sweden.

Material And Methods: Cross-sectional data on spasticity severity (using a Numerical Rating Scale, NRS), resource use and HRQoL (using EQ-5D) were collected using a patient questionnaire and chart review.

Modelling the benefits of early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer using a biomarker signature.

Pancreatic cancer (PC) has a poor prognosis, with a 5-year survival of 3-4%. This is mainly due to late diagnosis because of diffuse symptoms, where 80-85% of the patients are inoperable. Consequently, early diagnosis would be of significant benefit, resulting in a potential 5-year survival of 30-40%.

Health economic evaluation of the Lund Integrated Medicines Management Model (LIMM) in elderly patients admitted to hospital.

Objective: To evaluate the cost effectiveness of a multidisciplinary team including a pharmacist for systematic medication review and reconciliation from admission to discharge at hospital among elderly patients (the Lund Integrated Medicines Management (LIMM)) in order to reduce drug-related readmissions and outpatient visits.

Method: Published data from the LIMM project group were used to design a probabilistic decision tree model for evaluating tools for (1) a systematic medication reconciliation and review process at initial hospital admission and during stay (admission part) and (2) a medication report for patients discharged from hospital to primary care (discharge part). The comparator was standard care.

Patient preferences and willingness-to-pay for ADHD treatment with stimulants using discrete choice experiment (DCE) in Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

Background: The choice between different attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications depends on different drug attributes. Economic evaluations of drugs often disregard the utility of other attributes compare with the drugs' efficacy.

Aims: The aim of this study was to assess patient's preferences and elicit willingness-to-pay (WTP) for different drug attributes in the treatment of ADHD.

Treatment patterns, treatment satisfaction, severity of disease problems, and quality of life in patients with psoriasis in three Nordic countries.

Biological drugs are expensive, but can reduce symptoms and increase quality of life for patients with psoriasis. The aim of this study was to examine quality of life, disease severity and treatment satisfaction in Danish, Finnish and Swedish patients with psoriasis. Based on 12 months' data from patient surveys and chart reviews, 3 treatment groups were identified: topical, systemic and/or biological <12 months, and biological for 12 months.

Cost-effectiveness of mometasone furoate nasal spray in the treatment of acute rhinosinusitis.

Background: Acute rhinosinusitis is a common disease with an increasing incidence rate. It causes substantial costs to the individual and to society through healthcare consumption and absence from work. The use of antibiotics is widespread in the treatment of acute rhinosinusitis, but increasing bacterial resistance is an argument for restricting excessive use of antibiotics.

Budget impact analysis of surgical treatment for obesity in Sweden.

Background: The recent substantial increase in the number of obese surgeries performed in Sweden has raised concerns about the budget impact.

Objective: Our aim in this paper is to present an assessment of the budgetary impact of different policies for surgical intervention for obese and overweight subjects from a healthcare perspective in Sweden.

Methods: The model simulates the annual expected treatment costs of obesity related diseases and surgery in patients of different sex, age and Body Mass Index (BMI).

Societal costs of hearing disorders: a systematic and critical review of literature.

Objective: The objective of this study was to perform a critical and systematic literature review of studies on societal costs due to hearing disorders.

Design: We used predefined search terms and inclusion/exclusion criteria. Systematic searches were conducted in Medline, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and other relevant websites.

Societal value of stem cell therapy in stroke--a modeling study.

Background: Stroke is one of the major causes of disability in the adult population and represents a heavy social and economic burden. Currently available therapeutic tools to support the recovery of impaired brain functions are quite limited. Animal studies have demonstrated that neuronal replacement and partial reconstruction of neural circuitry or modulation of the recovery process is possible with cell transplantation in the damaged adult brain.

Costs and quality of life for psoriatic patients at different degrees of severity in southern Sweden - a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: Knowledge of the societal costs of psoriasis is limited. This study estimated the cost of care, psoriasis area and severity index (PASI), and quality of life in a defined patient population in Sweden.

Methods: A prevalence-based prospective recruitment of patients visiting two Swedish dermatology clinics between September and December 2009 was performed, collecting resource utilization for health care contacts, treatment, travelling, and productivity loss during 1 month.

Effect of treatment with natalizumab on ability to work in people with multiple sclerosis: productivity gain based on direct measurement of work capacity before and after 1 year of treatment.

Background: Sweden is a high endemic region for multiple sclerosis (MS), a neurologic disorder characterized by repeated inflammatory episodes affecting the CNS. The disease has its peak age of onset at approximately 30 years and affects women twice as often as men. The young age of onset makes MS one of the major causes of reduced capacity to work due to neurologic disease in Western society.

Costs for patients with psychotic illness: differences depending upon state of remission.

Background: Psychotic illnesses have a substantial economic burden on patients, family members, friends, and society in general, still there have been limited attempts to estimate the costs associated with this condition. Moreover, nothing is known about the differences in costs between patients depending on disease severity, i.e.

Are treatment satisfaction, quality of life, and self-assessed disease severity relevant parameters for patient registries? Experiences from Finnish and Swedish patients with psoriasis.

Patient registries often lack indicators of the disease as experienced by patients, e.g. treatment satisfaction and self-assessed disease severity.

Medical resource utilization and cost of HIV-related care in the highly active antiretroviral therapy era at a University Clinic in Sweden.

Introduction: Little is known regarding healthcare costs for HIV/AIDS patients in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and subgroups of patients according to the severity and progression of HIV infection in Sweden. The objective of this study is therefore to describe the direct medical resource use and cost of healthcare for HIV patients at a university clinic in Sweden.

Methods: A patient registry database for HIV treatment at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, between 2000 and 2005 provided information on patient characteristics, antiretroviral drugs and dosages, tests and diagnostic procedures, outpatient visits and inpatient stays.

Reducing uncertainty in value-based pricing using evidence development agreements: the case of continuous intraduodenal infusion of levodopa/carbidopa (Duodopa®) in Sweden.

Background: Value-based pricing (VBP), whereby prices are set according to the perceived benefits offered to the consumer at a time when costs and benefits are characterized by considerable uncertainty and are then reviewed ex post, is a much discussed topic in pharmaceutical reimbursement. It is usually combined with coverage with evidence development (CED), a tool in which manufacturers are granted temporary reimbursement but are required to collect and submit additional health economic data at review. Many countries, including the UK, are signalling shifts in this direction.

The direct and indirect costs of opioid-induced constipation.

Context: Treatment with strong opioids is connected with frequent and problematic side effects. One of the most common side effects is opioid-induced constipation (OIC). The discomfort of OIC can limit the effectiveness of pain therapy.

Cost-effectiveness of dasatinib versus high-dose imatinib in patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML), resistant to standard dose imatinib--a Swedish model application.

Background: Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a progressive disease, consisting of three phases, chronic, accelerated and blast phase. Treatment with imatinib has demonstrated high response rates and improved prognosis for patients with CML. The emergence of imatinib resistance is a major concern.

The impact on schizophrenia-related hospital utilization and costs of switching to long-acting risperidone injections in Sweden.

Aim: To estimate changes in resource usage, hospitalization rates, and costs in actual practice in Sweden for schizophrenia patients after switching to long-acting injectable risperidone (Risperdal Consta).

Methods: A retrospective chart review within-subject mirror-image study using actual practice chart review data was used to compare annual hospital bed-days and annual hospital episodes for adults with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder before and after switching to Risperdal Consta in the period 1 January 2003 to 30 June 2005. Secondary endpoints included mean length of hospital stay per episode, the cost of hospitalization, and the cost of antipsychotic treatment.

Cost-effectiveness of a barrier-strengthening moisturizing cream as maintenance therapy vs. no treatment after an initial steroid course in patients with atopic dermatitis in Sweden--with model applications for Denmark, Norway and Finland.

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) affects health and quality of life and it has great impact on both health-care costs and costs to the society.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to develop a model to analyse the cost-effectiveness of a barrier-strengthening moisturizing cream as maintenance therapy compared with no treatment after initial treatment with betamethasone valerate in adult patients with AD in Sweden. A further aim was to apply a similar health-economic analysis for Denmark, Norway and Finland.

A maximum likelihood estimator of a Markov model for disease activity in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis for annually aggregated partial observations.

Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are chronic inflammatory bowel diseases that have a remitting, relapsing nature. During relapse, they are treated with drugs and surgery. The present study was based on individual data from patients diagnosed with CD or UC at Herlev University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark, during 1991 to 1993.

Costs associated with sharps injuries in the Swedish health care setting and potential cost savings from needle-stick prevention devices with needle and syringe.

The number and costs associated with reported sharps injuries in Swedish hospitals and the potential cost offset by introducing safety devices with needle and syringe was estimated from a health care perspective. Data about reported sharps injuries were collected from infection control nurses at 18 Swedish hospitals and information about the procedures following such injuries from doctors at Swedish hospitals and published articles. Unit costs were derived from the Southern Regional Health Care Board, SEK 2007.

Direct hospital resource utilization and costs of treating patients with multiple myeloma in Southwest Sweden: a 5-year retrospective analysis.

Background: Approximately 570 patients are diagnosed with multiple myeloma (MM) in Sweden each year. Few studies have estimated the cost of treatment for these patients.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to retrospectively investigate the direct hospital resource utilization and costs associated with the treatment of patients with MM in southwest Sweden.

The cost-effectiveness of treatment with erythropoietin compared to red blood cell transfusions for patients with chemotherapy induced anaemia: a Markov model.

Background: Anaemia is a common complication of chemotherapy. As anaemia can lead to e.g.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of a universal vaccination programme with the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-7) in Sweden.

The 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-7) has proved to be highly effective against invasive pneumococcal disease and has also provided some protection against all-cause pneumonia and acute otitis media. The objective of this study was to evaluate the projected health benefits, costs and cost-effectiveness of vaccination with the 7-valent conjugated pneumococcal vaccine compared with no vaccination, in all infants in Sweden, taking herd immunity into account. A Markov model was used and a hypothetical birth cohort was simulated for a lifelong perspective.