Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Early versus Late Debridement of Superficial Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex Tears.

Background: While initial nonoperative management is the conventional approach for superficial triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) tears, a substantial portion of these cases go on to require surgery, and the optimal duration of nonoperative treatment is unknown. In this study, we evaluate the cost-effectiveness of early versus late arthroscopic debridement for the treatment of superficial TFCC tears without distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ) instability. Methods: We created a decision tree to compare the following strategies from a healthcare payer perspective: immediate arthroscopic debridement versus immobilization for 4 or 6 weeks with late debridement as needed. Costs were obtained from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services and a national administrative claims database. Probabilities and health-related quality-of-life measures were obtained from published sources. We conducted sensitivity analyses on model inputs, including a probabilistic sensitivity analysis consisting of 10,000 Monte Carlo simulations. Results: Immobilization for 6 weeks while reserving arthroscopic debridement for refractory cases was both the least costly and most effective strategy. Immediate arthroscopic debridement became cost-effective when success rates of immobilization for 4 or 6 weeks were less than 7.7 or 10.5%, respectively. Our probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed that immobilization for 6 weeks was preferred 97.6% of the time, and immobilization for 4 weeks was preferred 2.4% of the time. Conclusion: Although various early and late debridement strategies can be used to treat superficial TFCC tears without DRUJ instability, immobilization for 6 weeks while reserving arthroscopic debridement for refractory cases is the optimal strategy from a cost-effectiveness standpoint.

Red Blood Cell Transfusion in Patients With Placenta Accreta Spectrum: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate red blood cell use during delivery in patients with placenta accreta spectrum. DATA SOURCES: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Central, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Scopus for clinical trials and observational studies published between 2000 and 2021 in countries with developed economies. METHODS OF STUDY SELECTION: Abstracts (n=4,275) and full-text studies (n=599) were identified and reviewed by two independent reviewers. Data on transfused red blood cells were included from studies reporting means and SDs, medians with interquartile ranges, or individual patient data. The primary outcome was the weighted mean number of units of red blood cells transfused per patient. Between-study heterogeneity was assessed with an I2 statistic. Secondary analyses included red blood cell usage by placenta accreta subtype. TABULATION, INTEGRATION, AND RESULTS: Of the 599 full-text studies identified, 20 met criteria for inclusion in the systematic review, comprising 1,091 cases of placenta accreta spectrum. The number of units of red blood cells transfused was inconsistently described across studies, with five studies (25.0%) reporting means, 11 (55.0%) reporting medians, and four (20.0%) reporting individual patient data. The weighted mean number of units transfused was 5.19 (95% CI 4.12-6.26) per patient. Heterogeneity was high across studies (I2=91%). In a sensitivity analysis of five studies reporting mean data, the mean number of units transfused was 6.61 (95% CI 4.73-8.48; n=220 patients). Further quantification of units transfused by placenta accreta subtype was limited due to methodologic inconsistencies between studies and small cohort sizes. CONCLUSION: Based on the upper limit of the CI in our main analysis and the high study heterogeneity, we recommend that a minimum of 6 units of red blood cells be available before delivery for patients with placenta accreta spectrum. These findings may inform future guidelines for predelivery blood ordering and transfusion support. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO, CRD42021240993.

Deep Brain Stimulation Compared With Contingency Management for the Treatment of Cocaine Use Disorders: A Threshold and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Cocaine is the second most frequently used illicit drug worldwide (after cannabis), and cocaine use disorder (CUD)-related deaths increased globally by 80% from 1990 to 2013. There is yet to be a regulatory-approved treatment. Emerging preclinical evidence indicates that deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the nucleus accumbens may be a therapeutic option. Prior to expanding the costly investigation of DBS for treatment of CUD, it is important to ensure societal cost-effectiveness. AIMS: We conducted a threshold and cost-effectiveness analysis to determine the success rate at which DBS would be equivalent to contingency management (CM), recently identified as the most efficacious therapy for treatments of CUDs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Quality of life, efficacy, and safety parameters for CM were obtained from previous literature. Costs were calculated from a societal perspective. Our model predicted the utility benefit based on quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and incremental-cost-effectiveness ratio resulting from two treatments on a one-, two-, and five-year timeline. RESULTS: On a one-year timeline, DBS would need to impart a success rate (ie, cocaine free) of 70% for it to yield the same utility benefit (0.492 QALYs per year) as CM. At no success rate would DBS be more cost-effective (incremental-cost-effectiveness ratio <$50,000) than CM during the first year. Nevertheless, as DBS costs are front loaded, DBS would need to achieve success rates of 74% and 51% for its cost-effectiveness to exceed that of CM over a two- and five-year period, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We find DBS would not be cost-effective in the short term (one year) but may be cost-effective in longer timelines. Since DBS holds promise to potentially be a cost-effective treatment for CUDs, future randomized controlled trials should be performed to assess its efficacy.

A systematic evaluation of youtube as an information source for male infertility.

This study evaluates YouTube videos (YTVs) focused on male infertility to assess information quality and identify high-quality content that can reliably facilitate care. Top 50 YTVs based on relevance were identified using the keyword "male infertility." A checklist, adapted from American Urological Association guidelines addressing male infertility, was developed to assess YTV content. Two investigators extracted YTV features (including duration, likes, views, upload date), classified creators and ranked YTVs based on checklist scores. YTVs were then assigned grades A-D based on checklist scores. Kruskal-Wallis test and ANOVA were employed to draw associations between grades, content creator, and YTV features. Higher grades were associated with shorter video duration (p = 0.0305). Most YTVs (23/42) were created by healthcare-related organizations. Of the 42 YTVs included in the final analysis, 31% (13/42) explicitly defined infertility as an inability to conceive after 12 months of unprotected intercourse. Ninety percent (38/42) discussed male infertility evaluation methods, while 71% (30/42) discussed various interventions. Various content creators have adopted YouTube to discuss male infertility, and healthcare practitioners should be aware of YouTube's potential influence on patient understanding of male infertility. Knowledge gaps identified in YTVs can help improve patient counseling and enable practitioners to direct patients to reliable content.

Bilateral Deep Brain Stimulation is the Procedure to Beat for Advanced Parkinson Disease: A Meta-Analytic, Cost-Effective Threshold Analysis for Focused Ultrasound.

BACKGROUND: Parkinson disease (PD) impairs daily functioning for an increasing number of patients and has a growing national economic burden. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) may be the most broadly accepted procedural intervention for PD, but cost-effectiveness has not been established. Moreover, magnetic resonance image-guided focused ultrasound (FUS) is an emerging incisionless, ablative treatment that could potentially be safer and even more cost-effective. OBJECTIVE: To (1) quantify the utility (functional disability metric) imparted by DBS and radiofrequency ablation (RF), (2) compare cost-effectiveness of DBS and RF, and (3) establish a preliminary success threshold at which FUS would be cost-effective compared to these procedures. METHODS: We performed a meta-analysis of articles (1998-2018) of DBS and RF targeting the globus pallidus or subthalamic nucleus in PD patients and calculated utility using pooled Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale motor (UPDRS-3) scores and adverse events incidences. We calculated Medicare reimbursements for each treatment as a proxy for societal cost. RESULTS: Over a 22-mo mean follow-up period, bilateral DBS imparted the most utility (0.423 quality-adjusted life-years added) compared to (in order of best to worst) bilateral RF, unilateral DBS, and unilateral RF, and was the most cost-effective (expected cost: $32 095 ± $594) over a 22-mo mean follow-up. Based on this benchmark, FUS would need to impart UPDRS-3 reductions of ∼16% and ∼33% to be the most cost-effective treatment over 2- and 5-yr periods, respectively. CONCLUSION: Bilateral DBS imparts the most utility and cost-effectiveness for PD. If our established success threshold is met, FUS ablation could dominate bilateral DBS's cost-effectiveness from a societal cost perspective.

A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Smoking-Cessation Interventions Prior to Posterolateral Lumbar Fusion.

BACKGROUND: Smoking cessation represents an opportunity to reduce both short and long-term effects of smoking on complications after lumbar fusion and smoking-related morbidity and mortality. However, the cost-effectiveness of smoking-cessation interventions prior to lumbar fusion is not fully known. METHODS: We created a decision-analytic Markov model to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of 5 smoking-cessation strategies (behavioral counseling, nicotine replacement therapy [NRT], bupropion or varenicline monotherapy, and a combined intervention) prior to single-level, instrumented lumbar posterolateral fusion (PLF) from the health payer perspective. Probabilities, costs, and utilities were obtained from published sources. We calculated the costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) associated with each strategy over multiple time horizons and accounted for uncertainty with probabilistic sensitivity analyses (PSAs) consisting of 10,000 second-order Monte Carlo simulations. RESULTS: Every smoking-cessation intervention was more effective and less costly than usual care at the lifetime horizon. In the short term, behavioral counseling, NRT, varenicline monotherapy, and the combined intervention were also cost-saving, while bupropion monotherapy was more effective but more costly than usual care. The mean lifetime cost savings for behavioral counseling, NRT, bupropion monotherapy, varenicline monotherapy, and the combined intervention were $3,291 (standard deviation [SD], $868), $2,571 (SD, $479), $2,851 (SD, $830), $6,767 (SD, $1,604), and $34,923 (SD, $4,248), respectively. The minimum efficacy threshold (relative risk for smoking cessation) for lifetime cost savings varied from 1.01 (behavioral counseling) to 1.15 (varenicline monotherapy). A PSA revealed that the combined smoking-cessation intervention was always more effective and less costly than usual care. CONCLUSIONS: Even brief smoking-cessation interventions yield large short-term and long-term cost savings. Smoking-cessation interventions prior to PLF can both reduce costs and improve patient outcomes as health payers/systems shift toward value-based reimbursement (e.g., bundled payments) or population health models. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Economic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Long-term follow-up of neurosurgical outcomes for adult patients in Uganda with traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in Uganda and other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Due to the difficulty of long-term in-person follow-up, there is a paucity of literature on longitudinal outcomes of TBI in LMICs. Using a scalable phone-centered survey, this study attempted to investigate factors associated with both mortality and quality of life in Ugandan patients with TBI. METHODS: A prospective registry of adult patients with TBI admitted to the neurosurgical ward at Mulago National Referral Hospital was assembled. Long-term follow-up was conducted between 10.4 and 30.5 months after discharge (median 18.6 months). Statistical analyses included univariable and multivariable logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression to elucidate factors associated with mortality and long-term recovery. RESULTS: A total of 1274 adult patients with TBI were included, of whom 302 (23.7%) died as inpatients. Patients who died as inpatients received surgery less frequently (p < 0.001), had more severe TBI at presentation (p < 0.001), were older (p < 0.001), and were more likely to be female (p < 0.0001). Patients presenting with TBI resulting from assault were at reduced risk of inpatient death compared with those presenting with TBI caused by road traffic accidents (OR 0.362, 95% CI 0.128-0.933). Inpatient mortality and postdischarge mortality prior to follow-up were 23.7% and 9%, respectively. Of those discharged, 60.8% were reached through phone interviews. Higher Glasgow Coma Scale score at discharge (continuous HR 0.71, 95% CI 0.53-0.94) was associated with improved long-term survival. Tracheostomy (HR 4.38, 95% CI 1.05-16.7) and older age (continuous HR 1.03, 95% CI 1.009-1.05) were associated with poor long-term outcomes. More than 15% of patients continued to suffer from TBI sequelae years after the initial injury, including seizures (6.1%) and depression (10.0%). Despite more than 60% of patients seeking follow-up healthcare visits, mortality was still 9% among discharged patients, suggesting a need for improved longitudinal care to monitor recovery progress. CONCLUSIONS: Inpatient and postdischarge mortality remain high following admission to Uganda's main tertiary hospital with the diagnosis of TBI. Furthermore, posttraumatic sequelae, including seizures and depression, continue to burden patients years after discharge. Effective scalable solutions, including phone interviews, are needed to elucidate and address factors limiting in-hospital capacity and access to follow-up healthcare.

A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Corticosteroid Injections and Open Surgical Release for Trigger Finger.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of corticosteroid injection(s) versus open surgical release for the treatment of trigger finger. METHODS: Using a US health care payer perspective, we created a decision tree model to estimate the costs and outcomes associated with 4 treatment strategies for trigger finger: offering up to 3 steroid injections before to surgery or immediate open surgical release. Costs were obtained from a large administrative claims database. We calculated expected quality-adjusted life-years for each treatment strategy, which were compared using incremental cost-effectiveness ratios. Separate analyses were performed for commercially insured and Medicare Advantage patients. We performed a probabilistic sensitivity analysis using 10,000 second-order Monte Carlo simulations that simultaneously sampled from the uncertainty distributions of all model inputs. RESULTS: Offering 3 steroid injections before surgery was the optimal strategy for both commercially insured and Medicare Advantage patients. The probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed that this strategy was cost-effective 67% and 59% of the time for commercially insured and Medicare Advantage patients, respectively. Our results were sensitive to the probability of injection site fat necrosis, success rate of steroid injections, time to symptom relief after a steroid injection, and cost of treatment. Immediate surgical release became cost-effective when the cost of surgery was below $902 or $853 for commercially insured and Medicare Advantage patients, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple treatment strategies exist for treating trigger finger, and our cost-effectiveness analysis helps define the relative value of different approaches. From a health care payer perspective, offering 3 steroid injections before surgery is a cost-effective strategy. TYPE OF STUDY/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Economic and Decision Analyses II.

Co-Manifestations of Genital Neurofibromatosis in a Patient with Neurofibromatosis Type 1.

Genitourinary presentation of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1) is rare, amongst which bladder involvement is the most common. Sporadic case reports do highlight infrequent external genitalia involvement in NF-1. We present a 21-year-old male with prior childhood history of partial cystectomy for an NF-1 related bladder tumor, who more recently presented with gross hematuria. Workup revealed multiple ganglioneuromas involving the bladder, prostate, and penis, and the patient underwent radical cystoprostatectomy and penile mass excision. Recurrences of previously excised urologic tumors or new tumors may appear many years later, and long-term monitoring of NF-1 patients with urologic involvement is necessary.

Boda Bodas and Road Traffic Injuries in Uganda: An Overview of Traffic Safety Trends from 2009 to 2017.

INTRODUCTION: Road traffic injuries (RTIs) are an important contributor to the morbidity and mortality of developing countries. In Uganda, motorcycle taxis, known as boda bodas, are responsible for a growing proportion of RTIs. This study seeks to evaluate and comment on traffic safety trends from the past decade. METHODS: Traffic reports from the Ugandan police force (2009 to 2017) were analyzed for RTI characteristics. Furthermore, one month of casualty ward data in 2015 and 2018 was collected from the Mulago National Referral Hospital and reviewed for casualty demographics and trauma type. RESULTS: RTI motorcycle contribution rose steadily from 2009 to 2017 (24.5% to 33.9%). While the total number of crashes dropped from 22,461 to 13,244 between 2010 and 2017, the proportion of fatal RTIs increased from 14.7% to 22.2%. In the casualty ward, RTIs accounted for a greater proportion of patients and traumas in 2018 compared to 2015 (10%/41% and 36%/64%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Although RTIs have seen a gross reduction in Uganda, they have become more deadly, with greater motorcycle involvement. Hospital data demonstrate a rising need for trauma and neurosurgical care to manage greater RTI patient burden. Combining RTI prevention and care pathway improvements may mitigate current RTI trends.

Operative Versus Nonoperative Management of Appendicitis: A Long-Term Cost Effectiveness Analysis.

Background. Recent clinical trials suggest that nonoperative management (NOM) of patients with acute, uncomplicated appendicitis is an acceptable alternative to surgery. However, limited data exist comparing the long-term cost-effectiveness of nonoperative treatment strategies. Design. We constructed a Markov model comparing the cost-effectiveness of three treatment strategies for uncomplicated appendicitis: 1) laparoscopic appendectomy, 2) inpatient NOM, and 3) outpatient NOM. The model assessed lifetime costs and outcomes from a third-party payer perspective. The preferred strategy was the one yielding the greatest utility without exceeding a $50,000 willingness-to-pay threshold. Results. Outpatient NOM cost $233,700 over a lifetime; laparoscopic appendectomy cost $2500 more while inpatient NOM cost $7300 more. Outpatient NOM generated 24.9270 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), while laparoscopic appendectomy and inpatient NOM yielded 0.0709 and 0.0005 additional QALYs, respectively. Laparoscopic appendectomy was cost-effective compared with outpatient NOM (incremental cost-effectiveness ratio $32,300 per QALY gained); inpatient NOM was dominated by laparoscopic appendectomy. In one-way sensitivity analyses, the preferred strategy changed when varying perioperative mortality, probability of appendiceal malignancy or recurrent appendicitis after NOM, probability of a complicated recurrence, and appendectomy cost. A two-way sensitivity analysis showed that the rates of NOM failure and appendicitis recurrence described in randomized trials exceeded the values required for NOM to be preferred. Limitations. There are limited NOM data to generate long-term model probabilities. Health state utilities were often drawn from single studies and may significantly influence model outcomes. Conclusion. Laparoscopic appendectomy is a cost-effective treatment for acute uncomplicated appendicitis over a lifetime time horizon. Inpatient NOM was never the preferred strategy in the scenarios considered here. These results emphasize the importance of considering long-term costs and outcomes when evaluating NOM.

Cost-effectiveness of Canakinumab for Prevention of Recurrent Cardiovascular Events.

Importance: In the Canakinumab Anti-inflammatory Thrombosis Outcome Study (CANTOS) trial, the anti-inflammatory monoclonal antibody canakinumab significantly reduced the risk of recurrent cardiovascular events in patients with previous myocardial infarction (MI) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels of 2 mg/L or greater. Objective: To estimate the cost-effectiveness of adding canakinumab to standard of care for the secondary prevention of major cardiovascular events over a range of potential prices. Design, Setting, and Participants: A state-transition Markov model was constructed to estimate costs and outcomes over a lifetime horizon by projecting rates of recurrent MI, coronary revascularization, infection, and lung cancer with and without canakinumab treatment. We used a US health care sector perspective, and the base case used the current US market price of canakinumab of $73 000 per year. A hypothetical cohort of patients after MI aged 61 years with an hs-CRP level of 2 mg/L or greater was constructed. Interventions: Canakinumab, 150 mg, administered every 3 months plus standard of care compared with standard of care alone. Main Outcomes and Measures: Lifetime costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), discounted at 3% annually. Results: Adding canakinumab to standard of care increased life expectancy from 11.31 to 11.36 years, QALYs from 9.37 to 9.50, and costs from $242 000 to $1 074 000, yielding an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $6.4 million per QALY gained. The price would have to be reduced by more than 98% (to $1150 per year or less) to meet the $100 000 per QALY willingness-to-pay threshold. These results were generally robust across alternative assumptions, eg, substantially lower health-related quality of life after recurrent cardiovascular events, lower infection rates while receiving canakinumab, and reduced all-cause mortality while receiving canakinumab. Including a potential beneficial effect of canakinumab on lung cancer incidence improved the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio to $3.5 million per QALY gained. A strategy of continuing canakinumab selectively in patients with reduction in hs-CRP levels to less than 2 mg/L would have a cost-effectiveness ratio of $819 000 per QALY gained. Conclusions and Relevance: Canakinumab is not cost-effective at current US prices for prevention of recurrent cardiovascular events in patients with a prior MI. Substantial price reductions would be needed for canakinumab to be considered cost-effective.

Use of gasotransmitters for the controlled release of polymer-based nitric oxide carriers in medical applications.

Nitric Oxide (NO) is a small molecule gasotransmitter synthesized by nitric oxide synthase in almost all types of mammalian cells. NO is synthesized by NO synthase by conversion of l-arginine to l-citrulline in the human body. NO then stimulates soluble guanylate cyclase, from which various physiological functions are mediated in a concentration-dependent manner. High concentrations of NO induce apoptosis or antibacterial responses whereas low NO circulation leads to angiogenesis. The bidirectional effect of NO has attracted considerable attention, and efforts to deliver NO in a controlled manner, especially through polymeric carriers, has been the topic of much research. This naturally produced signaling molecule has stood out as a potentially more potent therapeutic agent compared to exogenously synthesized drugs. In this review, we will focus on past efforts of using the controlled release of NO via polymer-based materials to derive specific therapeutic results. We have also added studies and our future suggestions on co-delivery methods with other gasotransmitters as a step towards developing multifunctional carriers.

Label-free bacterial detection using polydiacetylene liposomes.

Polydiacetylene (PDA) liposomes were prepared to selectively capture target released from bacteria. Specific interplay between released-surfactin and PDA resulted in a conformal change in the structure of PDA, highlighting the potential of indirect interactions between bacteria and PDA in the construction of new label-free bacterial sensors.