Cost-effectiveness analysis of adding omega-3 or vitamin D supplementation to standard therapy in treating painful crises of pediatric sickle cell disease patients.

OBJECTIVE: Painful crises represents a predominant complication of sickle cell disease (SCD). The only approved treatments for painful crises in many countries are hydroxyurea plus potent analgesics. Our earlier clinical trial concluded that omega-3 and vitamin D had a potential therapeutic impact on painful crises. However, there is limited research evaluating their therapeutic applications and cost-effectiveness. This paper aims at comparing the cost-effectiveness of omega-3 and vitamin D supplementation to the standard therapy in treating painful crises among children with SCD. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Cost-effectiveness analyses of daily supplementation of omega-3 and vitamin D were performed. The economic evaluation was based on data derived from a prospective 10-month randomized clinical trial (n = 165 patients; 15 patients dropped). 50 patients were recruited into the omega-3 + standard therapy group (hydroxyurea and folic acid daily with ibuprofen as needed), 50 patients into the vitamin D + standard therapy group, and 50 patients receiving standard therapy alone served as a control group. Outcome measures from the randomized clinical trial were used to determine incremental effectiveness. Cost estimates were calculated from the healthcare payer's perspective. The analysis considered the improvement in various outcome measures and are presented here as percent change from baseline to determine the incremental effectiveness and the incremental cost for the treatment of both interventions. RESULTS: Adding omega-3 or vitamin D to the standard therapy was more cost-effective than standard treatment alone. Vitamin D was a cheaper but less cost-effective alternative for most outcomes between the two treatments, including LDL-C and HDL-C. It was also more cost-effective but less clinically effective in reducing vaso-occlusive crisis episodes and pain severity. Omega-3 supplementation was significantly more cost-effective than vitamin D supplementation and the standard treatment for those measures. CONCLUSIONS: The present study showed that using vitamin D and omega-3 as add-on treatments for a painful crisis in pediatric sickle cell disease could have overall cost-saving and clinical benefits. However, further studies with a longer treatment duration are needed to establish more significant effects of the interventions for better policy and clinical decision-making.

Are saudi healthcare students aware of COVID-19, and do they behave safely during viral outbreaks?

AIMS: The purpose of this study is to understand healthcare students' knowledge of COVID-19 and the precautionary behaviors they practiced in Saudi Arabia during the MERS-CoV2 outbreak. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study utilized an online questionnaire consisting of 29 items and three sections. The first section collected demographic information, including age, gender, location, and level of education. The second section assessed their knowledge of clinical characteristics, treatments, and disease prevention. The third section addressed the students' behaviors. RESULTS: Respondents included 223 students, of which 37.2% were males and 62.8% were females. The largest group of respondents included medical students (44.8%), followed by dental students (41.3%). Overall, students demonstrated a thorough knowledge of disease transmission, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of COVID-19. However, some of the respondents could not identify the full name of the disease, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (64.6%), or provide a current estimate of the number of cases diagnosed globally (49.8%). Additionally, most of the survey respondents (93.3%) reported that they had followed social distancing guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health. CONCLUSION: While most health students were knowledgeable about most aspects of COVID-19, others did not follow universal precautions during the outbreak, which identifies better incorporation of such information in students' academic programs.

A contemporary look at COVID-19 medications: available and potentially effective drugs.

OBJECTIVE: There have been significant changes to the management of COVID-19 in recent months, including protocols and guidelines designed to prevent, diagnose, and treat the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Several management options have been suggested and have since gained popularity, though we expect additional modifications to be made, as well as more new cases in the coming months, given a lack of definitive treatment and well-controlled experiments. This review highlights the available and potential treatments, along with the challenges associated with each. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive overview of all peer-reviewed studies, editorial comments, and letters to the editor based on a search in PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Scopus. The following terms were used: "COVID-19," "SARS-CoV-2," "drug," "treatment," "medication," and "management." All searches were done between March and May 20, 2020. RESULTS: There are several potential medications available for COVID-19, such as Interferon α (IFN-α), Teicoplanin, Ribavirin, Galidesivir, Lopinavir/Ritonavir, Chloroquine phosphate, Arbidol, Velpatasvir, Favipiravir, Ledipasvir, Remdesivir, Sofosbuvir, Darunavir, Qingfei Paidu Decoction (QPD), and Imatinib. However, we do not have a definitive and specific treatment yet. CONCLUSIONS: We are expecting to have more cases in the coming weeks/months. Therefore, further research is needed to characterize the disease behavior, to find the absolute drug, and to refine the treatment.