ABSTRACT
In the framework of the last Council Directive 2013/59 (Euratom, 2014) laying down basic safety standards for protection against the dangers arising from exposure to ionizing radiation, the problem of radon was assumed in Romania at national level by responsible authorities through the design and development of a National Radon Action Plan and an adequate legislation (HG nr. 526/2018). In order to identify radon risk areas, however, it is necessary to perform systematic radon measurements in different environmental media (soil gas, water, indoor air) and to map the results. This paper presents an atlas of up-to-date radon in soil and water levels for central and western part of Romania. The radon in soil map includes data from 2564 measurements carried out on-site, using Luk3C radon detector. The Luk-VR system was used to measure radon activity concentration from 2452 samples of drinking water. The average radon activity concentration was 29.3â¯kBqâ¯m-3 for soil gas, respectively 9.8â¯Bqâ¯l-1 for water dissolved air. Mapping of radon can be a useful tool to implement radon policies at both the national and local levels, defining priority areas for further study when land-use decisions must be made.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The cost of topical treatments for actinic keratosis (AK) has never been evaluated with respect to the actual cancerization field treated and the corresponding lesion response rate. Traditionally, evaluation in AK has been done in the context of patient response rate alone. The current study aimed to develop an economic model assessing the cost of topical treatments for the management of AK in Italy. METHODS: Data from Italian patients (N.=100) with five or more mild/moderate lesions on the face and/or scalp was used. The efficacy of the topical treatments which are available for the treatment of AK in Italy was considered. The outcome of interest was lesion response rates at three months and was based on published literature. The cost of each treatment was estimated according to the approval status of the drug and the cancerization area that required treatment. The analysis was replicated for four other European countries. RESULTS: The average costs of treatment with c-PDT, DL PDT, DHA, InMeb and IMQ were 364.2, 255.5, 848.7, 1039.1, and 628.3, respectively. Taking into account the number of lesions cleared per patient, the cancerization area treated, and the number of visits required with each treatment, the total costs per lesion treated per patient were estimated at 37.9, 29, 264.7, 103.5, and 115.4, respectively. The analysis produced consistent results when it was replicated for other countries. CONCLUSIONS: Daylight therapy with methyl aminolevulinate (DL PDT) is an effective treatment option for AK management with a favourable value for money profile.
