Cost-effectiveness of two-dose human papillomavirus vaccination in Singapore

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>Cervical cancer is the tenth most common cancer and the eighth most frequent cause of death among women in Singapore. As human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the necessary cause of cervical cancer, the risk of cervical cancer can be substantially reduced through vaccination. This study was conducted to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of two-dose HPV vaccination as part of a national vaccination programme for 12-year-old girls in Singapore, from the perspective of the healthcare payer.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A lifetime Markov cohort model was used to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of introducing the AS04-adjuvanted HPV-16/18 vaccine (AS04-HPV-16/18v) to the current cervical screening programme in Singapore. Furthermore, the cost-effectiveness of the AS04-HPV-16/18v was compared with the HPV-6/11/16/18 vaccine (4vHPV). Model inputs were derived from local data, where possible, and validated by clinical experts in Singapore.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Introduction of the AS04-HPV-16/18v in Singapore was shown to prevent 137 cervical cancer cases and 48 cervical cancer deaths when compared with screening alone. This resulted in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of SGD 12,645 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained, which is cost-effective according to the World Health Organization threshold for Singapore. When discounted at 3%, AS04-HPV-16/18v was dominant over 4vHPV, with cost savings of SGD 80,559 and 28 additional QALYs gained. In the one-way sensitivity analysis, AS04-HPV-16/18v remained cost-effective compared with screening alone and dominant compared with 4vHPV.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>AS04-HPV-16/18v is the most cost-effective choice for reducing the burden of cervical cancer through universal mass vaccination for 12-year-old girls in Singapore.</p>

Economic burden of otitis media and a survey of physicians for its practice and claim codes in Korea

Otitis media (OM) is one of the most common pediatric infectious diseases. The burden of OM is known in many countries, but data for Korea has not been collected. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the disease burden of OM in both children and adults. The Health Insurance Review and Assessment database study was analyzed to estimate the clinical and economic burden of OM and acute OM (AOM) for 2004. OM was defined as all cases coded H65, H66, or H67 and AOM cases coded H65, H65.0, H65.1, H65.9, H66, H66.4 or H66.9. For AOM, repeated visits within 30 days were considered to be one episode. Age specific incidence, and direct and indirect costs were estimated. A survey on pediatricians and otolaryngologists who most frequently diagnosed OM was carried out. The objective was to evaluate the accuracy of the claims made for OM and to examine the diagnosis and treatments of OM. A total of 5,964,587 claims for OM and 2,924,532 AOM episodes were reported. The incidence of outpatients presenting AOM was 60.9/1,000. The incidence of AOM was highest in children aged 1 year (736.9/1,000). The overall hospitalization rate due to AOM was 2.8/10,000, with a peak of 29.4/10,000 (1 year). The total cost incurred by AOM in Korea was estimated to be around 606.3 billion Korean won (KRW; 1,000 KRW is approximately US$1.00). The total cost of admissions was approximately 22.9 billion KRW, and the average cost of admission per person was about 1,690,000 KRW in a year. The cost of outpatient visits was 583.4 billion KRW, and 199,000 KRW per person. According to a survey of pediatricians and otolaryngologists on the accuracy of the OM diagnostic code, treatment, and prescription habits, the first-line diagnosis of AOM seemed to be fairly accurate. OM, including AOM, causes a considerable clinical and economic burden in Korea.

Reasons for Investigators to Participate Industry Sponsored Clinical Trials

BACKGROUND: It is getting more difficult to involve appropriate investigators in clinical trials. Knowing what investigators want from sponsor initiated clinical trials would help industry cooperate with investigators more efficiently. This study aims to describe the incentives for investigators choosing to participate or not and perform well in sponsored clinical trials. METHODS: Investigators who have participated in GSK sponsored clinical trials were interviewed face-to-face or through e-mail using the standardized questionnaire. Investigators were asked to choose five items and determine the ranking or those five items. RESULTS: Questionnaires answered by 122 investigators were collected. The top three incentives were "Academic merit" (108, 88.5 %), "Expectation of treatment potentially helpful to patient" (101, 82.8 %), and "Access to new treatments" (92, 75.4 %). The disincentives and the factors affecting an investigator's performance were analyzed separately because of the different questionnaire between investigators for medicine and vaccine. Investigators for medicine choose as disincentives "Insufficient time" (43, 61.4 %), "Difficult protocol" (41, 58.6 %), and "Adverse event concerns" (41, 58.6 %). Vaccine investigators pointed out "Limited support staff" (41, 78.8 %), "Insufficient time" (40, 76.9 %), and "Difficult blood sampling" (333, 63.5 %) as disincentives. Factors adversely affecting an investigator's performance showed similar results to those of disincentives. CONCLUSION: Investigators focused on academic curiosity and patients and insufficient time mostly inhibits them from participating and performing clinical trials. Our results would help industry cooperate with investigators more efficiently, finally making companies perform clinical trials more effectively.

A Clinical Study of Primary Immunodeficiency Disease in a Single Center in Seoul from 1996 to 2004 / 소아알레르기및호흡기학회지

PURPOSE: Although primary immunodeficiency disorders are relatively rare, early diagnosis provides the opportunity to reduce morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate disease distribution, clinical manifestations, genetic mutation, treatment and prognosis of primary immunodeficiency disorders of childhood. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 15 cases with primary immunodeficiency disorders between 1996 and 2004 in Samsung Seoul Hospital, Seoul, Korea. RESULTS: The most common primary immunodeficiency was common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) (n=7), followed by X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) (n=3), severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) (n=2), hyper IgM syndrome (n=1), selective IgA deficiency (n=1), and chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) (n=1). Most cases had recurrent infections such as otitis media, bacterial pneumonia, sinusitis and other respiratory infections during infancy. The age at diagnosis ranged from 4 months to 17 years with a median age of 5 years. The male to female ratio was 11 to 4. Eleven patients were diagnosed with primary immunodeficiency diseases following respiratory infection, while the other 4 patients had pulmonary tuberculosis, perianal abscess, bacterial meningitis, septic arthritis. All the patients with XLA and CVID were regularly treated with IVIG. Two cases of SCID underwent successful bone marrow transplantation without complications. The patients with hyper IgM syndrome died due to severe infection even after bone marrow transplantation. CONCLUSION: Fifteen variable cases of primary immunodeficiency were diagnosed during 9 years. A high index of suspicion is required in children with recurrent or severe infections for the diagnosis of primary immunodeficiency, because early diagnosis and treatment can reduce mortality and morbidity.

Mucopolysaccharidosis and mucolipidosis / 한양의대학술지

Mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) and mucolipidosis(ML) belong to a group of rare genetic disorders of lysosomal enzymes and share some clinical manifestations. MPS is characterized by the accumulation of glycosaminoglycans (GAG) and results from the impaired function of one of 11 enzymes required for normal GAG degradation. ML, which is clinically similar to several forms of MPS, is caused by deficiency of Nacetylglucosamine-1-phosphotransferase activity. Therapeutic strategies for MPS, including enzyme replacement therapy and bone marrow transplantation, have been developed with some success. In this review, we discuss clinical feature, diagnostic methods, management and the present status of research on MPS and ML.

Clinical and Laboratory Features of Korean Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPSs) / 소아과

PURPOSE: The mucopolysaccharidoses (MPSs) are a heterogeneous group of lysosomal storage disorders. They are caused by a deficiency of the enzymes involved in the degradation of glycosaminoglycans. Early recognition is important because recombinant enzyme replacement therapy is now available for MPS. We studied the clinical characteristics of 80 MPS children with the object of determining the epidemiological, clinical and radiological features in Korean MPS children. METHODS: Diagnosis of MPS was confirmed by skin fibroblast enzyme analysis in 80 patients between February 1995 and December 2004. Charts were retrospectively reviewed for clinical and radiological findings, as well as for intelligence and speech evaluations. RESULTS: Hunter syndrome (MPS type II) was the most prevalent type, appearing in 51/80 cases (64 %), followed by Sanfilippo syndrome (MPS III-18%), Hurler syndrome (MPS I-15%), and Morquio syndrome (MPS IV-4%). The average age at diagnosis was 5.5 years (range 1 to 20), and the male-to-female ratio was 4.7: 1. Typical radiographic changes were observed in 45/54 cases (83%). Mitral regurgitation was the most common cardiac defect. Moderate to profound mental retardation and hearing loss were present in 14/35 cases (56%) and 33/38 cases (82%), respectively. Four MPS II patients had bone marrow transplantation, with mixed outcomes. Five MPS I patients are currently on enzyme replacement therapy. CONCLUSION: Our study showed a high proportion of MPS II cases (64%), which may represent population variability. By studying the clinical features of these patients, we hope to alert pediatricians of the warning signs of MPS.

Chemoreduction Followed by Local Therapy and Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Advanced Intraocular Retinoblastoma: A Pilot Study in a Single Center

Intraocular (IO) retinoblastoma (RB) has traditionally been treated with enucleation (ENU) or external beam radiotherapy (EBRT). Recently, clinical trials are in progress to cure RB without ENU or EBRT in order to salvage the globe and to avoid unacceptable side effects of EBRT. We performed a pilot study to treat patients with advanced Reese-Ellsworth (RE) stage IO RB with initial chemotherapy (CRx) followed by local therapy (LT) and adjuvant CRx. Ten eyes (8 RE group V, 2 RE group IV) from 9 patients were enrolled from March 2001 to November 2001. All tumors responded to CRx. In 5 of 10 eyes, the RB was enough to be treated with LT after chemoreduction. One patient who underwent LT is waiting for ENU due to post-cryotherapy complication. For a median follow-up of 13 months (8-16 mo), 4 eyes that received LT and adjuvant CRx were relapse-free. A patient with bilateral RB who failed to be a candidate for LT was rescued with high-dose CRx and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Consequently, by treating patients according to our strategy, we were able to salvage 6 out of 10 eyes without ENU or EBRT. These results suggest that chemoreduction followed by LT and adjuvant CRx might offer the opportunity to salvage the globe and vision even in patients with advanced stage IO RB.