The profile, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of alcohol- and non-alcohol-related patient presentations to Queensland emergency departments: a multi-site observational study.

Objective The harmful use of alcohol is a global issue. This study aimed to describe and compare the profiles, emergency department (ED) clinical characteristics, and outcomes of alcohol-related ED presentations (ARPs) and non-alcohol-related ED presentations (NARPs). Methods A multi-site observational study of all presentations to four EDs between 4 April 2016 and 31 August 2017, was conducted. Routinely collected ED clinical, administrative and costings data were used. Classification of ARPs were prospectively recorded by clinicians. Analysis was performed at the presentation, rather than person level. Univariate tests were undertaken to compare demographics, ED clinical characteristics and outcomes between ARPs and NARPs. Results A total of 418 051 ED presentations occurred within the 17-month study period; 5% (n = 19 875) were ARPs. Presentations made by people classified as ARPs were younger, more likely to be male, present on weekends or at night, and arrive by ambulance or police compared to NARPs. Compared with NARPs, ARPs had a longer median ED length of stay of over 20 min (95% CI 18-22, median 196 min vs 177 min, P < 0.001), a 5.5% (95% CI 4.9-5.3) lower admission rate (36% vs 42%, P < 0.001), and a AUD69 (95% CI 64-75) more expensive ED episode-of-care (AUD689 vs AUD622, P < 0.001). Conclusion Clinically meaningful differences were noted between alcohol-related and non-alcohol-related ED presentations. The higher cost of care for ARPs likely reflects their longer time in the ED. The healthcare and economic implications of incidents of alcohol-related harm extend beyond the ED, with ARPs having higher rates of ambulance and police use than NARPs.

Pressure injuries in Australian public hospitals: A cost of illness study.

BACKGROUND: Pressure injuries are a leading hospital adverse event, yet they are mostly preventable. Understanding their financial costs will help to appreciate the burden they place on the health system and assist in better planning and management of health expenditures to prevent pressure injuries. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the cost of pressure injuries in Australian public hospitals in 2020 demonstrating its economic burden in a well-resourced health system. METHODS: A cost of illness study with a 12-month time horizon was conducted. Resource use for the treatment of pressure injuries and productivity loss due to pressure injuries were derived using a bottom-up approach. Parameters of the cost estimates were obtained from secondary sources and literature syntheses. A simulation with 10,000 draws was used to generate statistical properties of the cost estimates. RESULTS: Based on a prevalence of 12.9%, the total cost of pressure injuries in Australian public hospitals was $9.11 billion [95% confidence intervals: 9.02, 9.21]. The two largest shares of costs were accounted for by the opportunity cost of excess length of stay of $3.60 billion [3.52, 3.68] and treatment costs of $3.59 billion [3.57, 3.60]. Productivity loss associated with pressure injuries amounts to $493 million [482, 504]. Hospital-acquired pressure injuries account for a total of $5.50 billion [5.44, 5.56], whereas pressure injuries present on admissions costed $3.71 billion [3.70, 3.72]. In terms of severity, Stage 2 pressure injuries contributed the most to total treatment costs, total excessive length of stay, and total loss of healthy life years. Australian society is willing to pay $1.43 billion [1.40, 1.45] to save 6,701 [6,595; 6,807] healthy life years lost by pressure injury. CONCLUSIONS: Reducing preventable pressure injuries and stopping the progression of Stage 1 pressure injuries will likely result in an immense cost-saving for Australia and will likely have similar benefits for other countries with comparable profiles. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: Australian public hospital study provides comprehensive analysis of the cost of pressure injury, including estimates of direct and indirect medical costs, and indirect non-medical costs - such as productivity and quality of life.

Effect of a 24/7 nursing presence in a police watch house on police presentations to the emergency department.

Objective People detained in police custody are a vulnerable population with complex health needs, sometimes requiring emergency care. This study evaluated the effect of a 24/7 nursing presence in a police watch house on police presentations to the emergency department (ED). Methods This was a retrospective observational study conducted in a regional ED in Queensland. Equal time periods of 66 days before (T1), during (T2) and after (T3) the pilot service was trialled in 2013 were compared to determine changes in patient and service delivery outcomes. The time to see a doctor in the ED, ED length of stay, hospital admission rate, number of transfers from the watch house to the ED and associated costs were measured. The nature of health care delivered by nurses to detainees in the watch house during the pilot was also examined. Results Fewer detainees were transferred from the police watch house to the ED during the pilot period (T1, n=40; T2, n=29; T3, n=34). Cost reductions associated with reduced police and ambulance attendance, as well as hospitalisations, outweighed the watch house nursing costs, with cost savings estimated at AUD7800 per week (60% benefiting police; 40% benefiting the health service). The most common health problems addressed during the 1313 healthcare delivery episodes provided to 351 detainees in the watch house during the pilot related to substance misuse, chronic disease and mental health problems. Conclusion Fewer transfers from the police watch house to the ED were noted when there was a 24/7 nursing presence in the watch house. This model appears to be economically efficient, but further research is required. What is known about the topic? People detained in police custody are a vulnerable population with complex health needs, sometimes requiring emergency care. What does this paper add? Transfers from the police watch house to the ED were fewer when there was a 24/7 nursing presence in the police watch house (an economically efficient model). Nursing care provided to detainees in the watch house setting predominantly related to substance misuse, chronic disease and mental health problems. What are the implications for practitioners? With a 24/7 nursing presence in the police watch house, transfer to the ED was avoided for some detainees. Similar strategies that respond to coronial recommendations advocating for enhancements in police-health collaboration warrant evaluation.

Protocol for a longitudinal study of melatonin therapy and cost effectiveness analysis in stimulant-treated children with ADHD and insomnia: An N-of-1 trial.

BACKGROUND: Children with ADHD and sleep problems have more caregiver deficits and decreased school attendance than children with ADHD but without a sleep problem. We conducted an N-of-1 trial of melatonin for children with ADHD on stimulants. As a follow-up study, we aim to conduct a cost effectiveness analysis (CEA) of melatonin therapy by comparing costs of this condition (of using melatonin) to costs of the baseline condition (usual care with no N-of-1 trial). METHODS: The CEA will compare participants who remained on melatonin vs those who chose to cease melatonin. Costs will be determined by medication cost to the caregiver(s), school/work absences, other sleep remedy costs, and health service utilization costs, including incidentals like parking. These costs will be determined at baseline, end of 6-week trial, and 6 months post-trial. We will also calculate Quality-Adjusted Life-Years (QALY) based on responses to PedsQL or SF-12v2 for patients and caregiver(s) and assess differences between remaining on melatonin or not; and assess the intermediate-term effectiveness and adverse effects of melatonin at 6 months. DISCUSSION: We hypothesize that shorter sleep-onset-latency will be associated with improved QALYs for patients and caregivers. We also expect that targeting melatonin to positive responders will be cost effective both for individuals and society. Cost per QALY for positive responders to melatonin is useful for doctors when creating treatment plans since melatonin is not an over-the-counter pharmaceutical in Australia. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ACTRN12614000542695.

Outcomes of transcatheter aortic valve implantation for intermediate-risk patients in Australia: the SOLACE-AU trial.

Background: Few studies have examined the safety and efficacy of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) for severe aortic stenosis (AS) in Australian patients. SOLACE-AU was a single-arm, open-label clinical trial conducted in Australian hospitals to determine the safety, performance, and cost implications of TAVI in patients with severe, symptomatic AS at intermediate surgical risk.Methods: This was a prospective, pragmatic, single-arm, multi-center, observational trial of 199 patients with severe, symptomatic AS treated with transfemoral TAVI using the SAPIEN XT transcatheter heart valve (THV) at 11 hospitals in Australia. The primary outcome was Valve Academic Research Consortium-2 (VARC-2) criteria - a composite of seven safety endpoints. Kaplan-Meier (KM) estimates and descriptive analyses were used to evaluate the impact of transfemoral TAVI on safety and valve performance. We also evaluated patient health-related quality of life (QoL) and healthcare resources used throughout the trial.Results: The valve was successfully implanted in 88% of patients. The VARC-2 outcome at 30 days was 12.1% (95% CI: 8.3-17.5%), and almost 90% of patients had improved heart failure symptoms at 1 year based on New York Heart Association functional class criteria. Patient QoL remained stable over time, with mean EQ-5D-3L scores being 0.71 ± 0.20 at baseline and 0.71 ± 0.21 at 2 years. Duration of post-procedure hospitalization (mean: 6.9 ± 4.7 days) decreased as procedural familiarity increased. The median total cost of TAVI decreased 10.1% at 3 years after introduction of the procedure at the sites.Conclusions: The SOLACE-AU trial demonstrated favorable safety and performance of the SAPIEN XT valve in patients with AS at intermediate risk of surgical complications.

Mapping Sri Lankan EQ-5D-3L to EQ-5D-5L Value Sets.

OBJECTIVES: Quality-adjusted life-years are the common outcome measure in contemporary economic evaluations in health care. Due to the limitations of the sensitivity of the EQ-5D-3L in specific disease conditions, the EuroQoL group has developed a new EQ-5D-5L classification system with 3,125 health states. This study estimated the Sri Lankan value set for the EQ-5D-5L using a crosswalk methodology. METHODS: The EuroQoL group had developed a crosswalk methods to obtain interim value set for the EQ-5D-5L health states using available EQ-5D-3L values. This was achieved by mapping EQ-5D-3L and EQ-5D-5L ratings through cross tabulations by each dimension level. Using above official EuroQoL crosswalk probabilities, an interim value set for the Sri Lankan EQ-5D-5L health states were generated based upon the Sri Lankan EQ-5D-3L value set (which was estimated using time trade-off method: n= 780). Comparison were conducted between the Sri Lankan EQ-5D-5L values and other countries. RESULTS: The Sri Lankan EQ-5D-5L recorded utility value of -0.73 for the worst health state and 0.85 for a best possible utility for a health state other than the full health. The UK (mean= 0.4) and Japanese (mean = 0.45) EQ-5D-5L mean utility values were higher than the Sri Lankan values (mean = 0.07). However, Thailand median values (0.21) were closer to the Sri Lankan median values (0.14) than the UK (0.41) or Japan (0.45). CONCLUSIONS: This study produced the Sri Lankan EQ-5D-5L interim value set using crosswalk methods. Currently, this is the only EQ-5D-5L value set available for the South Asian region.

The cost-effectiveness and consumer acceptability of taxation strategies to reduce rates of overweight and obesity among children in Australia: study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Childhood obesity is a recognised public health problem and around 25% of Australian children are overweight or obese. A major contributor is the obesogenic environment which encourages over consumption of energy dense nutrient poor food. Taxation is commonly proposed as a mechanism to reduce consumption of poor food choices and hence reduce rates of obesity and overweight in the community. METHODS/DESIGN: An economic model will be developed to assess the lifetime benefits and costs to a cohort of Australian children by reducing energy dense nutrient poor food consumption through taxation mechanisms. The model inputs will be derived from a series of smaller studies. Food options for taxation will be derived from literature and expert opinion, the acceptability and impact of price changes will be explored through a Citizen's Jury and a discrete choice experiment and price elasticities will be derived from the discrete choice experiment and consumption data. DISCUSSION: The health care costs of managing rising levels of obesity are a challenge for all governments. This study will provide a unique contribution to the international knowledge base by engaging a variety of robust research techniques, with a multidisciplinary focus and be responsive to consumers from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.