Global return on investment and cost-effectiveness of WHO's HEAR interventions for hearing loss: a modelling study.

BACKGROUND: To address the growing prevalence of hearing loss, WHO has identified a compendium of key evidence-based ear and hearing care interventions to be included within countries' universal health coverage packages. To assess the cost-effectiveness of these interventions and their budgetary effect for countries, we aimed to analyse the investment required to scale up services from baseline to recommended levels, and the return to society for every US$1 invested in the compendium. METHODS: We did a modelling study using the proposed set of WHO interventions (summarised under the acronym HEAR: hearing screening and intervention for newborn babies and infants, pre-school and school-age children, older adults, and adults at higher risk of hearing loss; ear disease prevention and management; access to technologies such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, or hearing assistive technologies; and rehabilitation service provision), which span the life course and include screening and management of hearing loss and related ear diseases, costs and benefits for the national population cohorts of 172 countries. The return on investment was analysed for the period between 2020 and 2030 using three scenarios: a business-as-usual scenario, a progress scenario with a scale-up to 50% of recommended coverage, and an ambitious scenario with scale-up to 90% of recommended coverage. Using data for hearing loss burden from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019, a transition model with three states (general population, diagnosed, and those who have died) was developed to model the national populations in countries. For the return-on-investment analysis, the monetary value of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) averted in addition to productivity gains were compared against the investment required in each scenario. FINDINGS: Scaling up ear and hearing care interventions to 90% requires an overall global investment of US$238·8 billion over 10 years. Over a 10-year period, this investment promises substantial health gains with more than 130 million DALYs averted. These gains translate to a monetary value of more than US$1·3 trillion. In addition, investment in hearing care will result in productivity benefits of more than US$2 trillion at the global level by 2030. Together, these benefits correspond to a return of nearly US$15 for every US$1 invested. INTERPRETATION: This is the first-ever global investment case for integrating ear and hearing care interventions in countries' universal health coverage services. The findings show the economic benefits of investing in this compendium and provide the basis for facilitating the increase of country's health budget for strengthening ear and hearing care services. FUNDING: None.

Price variation in the most commonly prescribed ear drops in Southern California.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: To evaluate the variability and discrepancies among the most commonly prescribed ear drops sold at pharmacies in southern California. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study evaluating 11 commonly used ear drops to treat otologic disorders. METHODS: Randomly selected drug stores in three major counties in Southern California (Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego) were included. Mean, range, minimum, and maximum prices for each drug were calculated and analyzed. The median income of pharmacy ZIP code was also cross-referenced. RESULTS: Data were collected from 108 pharmacies. The mean prices are noted for each of the individual drugs: Cortisporin (brand) 10 mL, $82.70; neomycin, polymyxin B sulfates, and hydrocortisone (Cortisporin-generic) 10 mL, $34.70; ofloxacin (generic) 10 mL, $99.95; sulfacetamide (generic) 15 mL, $40.18; Ciprodex (brand) 7.5 mL, $194.44; Cipro HC (brand) 10 mL, $233.32; Vosol (brand) 15 mL, $120.75; acetic acid (Vosol-generic) 10 mL, $116.55; VosolHC (brand) 10 mL, $204.14; acetic acid/aluminum acetate (Domeboro-generic) 60 mL, $22.91; and Tobradex (brand) 5 mL, $166.47. CONCLUSIONS: There is significant variability among the prices of ear drops across Southern Californian pharmacies, which can be a financial burden to patients paying out of pocket or with high deductibles. A state-mandated, publically accessible report of drug prices may help decrease variability and cost by promoting competition among pharmacies. Price negotiations by governmental payers may assist in reducing prices. In the treatment of otologic disorders, clinicians can help reduce costs for patients by prescribing generic ear drop medications and cheaper alternatives when clinically appropriate. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4. Laryngoscope, 127:1780-1784, 2017.

Impact of socio-economic status on ear health and behaviour in children: A cross-sectional study in the capital of India.

INTRODUCTION: Socio-economic differences in the society have been a major cause for the discrepancy in disease and behavioural patterns in society. With 360 million people (32 million children) in the world suffering from disabling hearing losses, it is imperative to gain an insight into the impact of differences in socio-economic strata on children's ear health issues, their knowledge of ear ailments and attitude towards ear health so as to suggest policies addressing ear health issues. METHODS: The study was carried out in two different school types namely government schools and private schools which represent wide difference in the socio-economic status of the students studying there. A questionnaire was administered to students aged 10 to 13 years to assess the current ear care practices, knowledge regarding ear ailments, attitude towards hearing and their adaptability to reform. RESULTS: The children belonging to higher socio-economic status were found to have lesser incidence of ear diseases and ear abuse, more referrals for ear ailments, lesser indulgence in risky ear health behaviours, better knowledge pool, positive attitude towards ear health and hearing and were more adaptable to change for better hearing. CONCLUSION: Structures of social disparity are essential determinants of ear health acting both independently and through their influence on behavioural determinants of health. Increasing awareness of ear health issues at the school level itself should be one of the goals of health care providers.

Cost-effectiveness of treatment of acute otorrhea in children with tympanostomy tubes.

BACKGROUND: Acute otorrhea is a common problem in children with tympanostomy tubes. We recently demonstrated that treatment with antibiotic-glucocorticoid eardrops is clinically superior to oral antibiotics and initial observation. The aim of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of these three common treatment strategies for this condition. METHODS: We performed an open-label pragmatic trial in which 230 children with acute uncomplicated tympanostomy-tube otorrhea were randomly allocated to receive 1 of 3 treatments: hydrocortisone-bacitracin-colistin eardrops, oral amoxicillin-clavulanate suspension, and initial observation (no assigned medication prescription to fill). Parents kept a daily diary capturing ear-related symptoms, health care resource use, and non-health care costs for 6 months. At 2 weeks and 6 months, the study doctor visited the children at home performing otoscopy. Using a societal perspective, treatment failure (otoscopic presence of otorrhea at 2 weeks) and number of days with otorrhea as reported in the daily diary were balanced against the costs. RESULTS: Antibiotic-glucocorticoid eardrops were clinically superior to oral antibiotics and initial observation both at 2 weeks and 6 months. At 2 weeks, mean total cost per patient was US$42.43 for antibiotic-glucocorticoid eardrops, US$70.60 for oral antibiotics, and US$82.03 for initial observation. At 6 months, mean total cost per patient was US$368.20, US$420.73, and US$640.44, respectively. Because of the dominance of eardrops, calculating incremental cost-effectiveness ratios was redundant. CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotic-glucocorticoid eardrops are clinically superior and cost less than oral antibiotics and initial observation in children with tympanostomy tubes who develop otorrhea.

Providing an extended use of an otological-specific outcome instrument to derive cost-effectiveness estimates of treatment.

OBJECTIVES: Although quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) are increasingly being used by decision-makers to make comparisons of cost-effectiveness, there are no otological-specific outcome measures that fit within this QALY framework. This study had two main objectives. The first was to provide a means to derive QALYs from a condition-specific otological instrument (Cambridge Otology Quality of Life, COQOL), and the second was to assess the convergent validity, or degree of correlation, between the COQOL and SF-6D, an established QALY instrument. DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort study designed to assess the convergent validity between SF-6D and COQOL and to generate a mapping function to enable SF-6D values to be predicted from the COQOL responses. SETTING: Cambridge University Hospital, UK. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 207 patients attending a routine outpatient general otology clinic. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: SF-6D and the COQOL instrument completed at baseline and again 3 months later. RESULTS: Convergent validity was demonstrated with mean SF-6D values decreasing linearly with increasing severity on the COQOL instrument. Overall, the correlation between the COQOL scores and the SF-6D values was moderate and statistically significant (r = 0.490, P = <0.001). A simple mapping model based on an ordinary least squares (OLS) regression function predicted SF-6D values from the COQOL data with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Further validation using the follow-up 3-month data confirmed the prediction power of this mapping model. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides a method for estimating QALYs from condition-specific COQOL data and provides the opportunity for the cost-effectiveness of otological treatment to be measured and placed within the national QALY framework.

Clinical indication as an ethical appraisal: the example of imaging before middle ear surgery.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: Asking whether imaging is indicated before middle ear surgery requires us to examine the question of indication more generally. PROCEDURES: Clinical indication integrates different levels, which are distinguished in this paper. As deciding whether or not an intervention is indicated requires different approaches on each of these levels, these approaches are also explored. RESULTS: Even when sufficient data are available to determine whether an intervention brings some benefit, knowing whether or not this intervention is indicated still requires us to answer 3 additional questions: (1) Is the intervention sufficiently beneficial to be clinically relevant? (2) Is the intervention 'reasonable' in terms of its opportunity costs? (3) How are we to decide which interventions 'make the cut', and which do not? Although we may all have an informed opinion on this topic, the question of the thresholds we ought to apply to very marginal benefits is one where the best answer can only be the one we have all agreed on. This requires a guideline integrating elements of procedural fairness, developed in conditions of protection from the risks of conflicts of interests. CONCLUSION: Although some of these questions integrate considerations of costs, not all do. However, all integrate value judgements, making clinical indication in part a question of ethical appraisal.

Single daily dosing of aminoglycosides.

To evaluate the rationale behind dosing aminoglycosides as a single daily dose versus traditional dosing approaches, we conducted a MEDLINE search to identify all pertinent articles, and also reviewed the references of all articles. Single daily dosing of aminoglycosides is not a new concept, having been examined since 1974. The advantages of this regimen include optimum concentration-dependent bactericidal activity, longer dosing intervals due to the postantibiotic effect (PAE), and prevention of bacterial adaptive resistance. Because of longer dosing intervals, toxicity may also be delayed or reduced. Costs may be reduced due to decreased monitoring and administration. Clinically, the regimen has been implemented in various patient populations with reported success. Questions remain, however, about optimum dose, peak and trough serum concentrations, and dose adjustment in patients with renal impairment or neutropenia. More clinical experience with this method in large numbers of patients has to be published. Pharmacists can be instrumental in monitoring patients receiving once-daily therapy and by educating health care professionals as to the rationale behind the therapy.

Economic evaluation of immunoprophylaxis in children with recurrent ear, nose and throat infections.

This study compares the costs of immunoprophylaxis versus no immunoprophylaxis in children with recurrent ear, nose and throat (ENT) infections (otitis media and rhinopharyngitis) using ribosomal immunotherapy ('Ribomunyl'). The per-patient cost of ribosomal immunotherapy (FF297) is offset by direct savings garnered through the prevention of many acute infectious episodes. The net 6-month per-patient savings associated with immunoprophylaxis range from FF272 to FF1704, depending on the indication and the type of treatment-cost estimate. Saved healthcare resources include physician consultations and visits, laboratory tests, medicotechnical services (audiometric tests) and antibiotic therapy. Sensitivity analysis of efficacy and treatment-cost estimates enabled threshold ranges of incremental efficacy to be identified. Cost-equivalence between the 2 treatment options was found to exist when the incremental efficacy of immunoprophylaxis lay between 7.4 and 17.5% (recurrent otitis media), and between 8.9 and 26.1% (recurrent rhinopharyngitis). Thus, even when clearly lower incremental efficacy rates than those reported in controlled clinical trials (approximately 40 to 60%) are assumed, ribosomal immunotherapy can still be expected to be cost effective. An analysis of the perspectives of the various payers in the French healthcare system demonstrated that net savings occurred for all payers involved. However, social security insurance would gain most from an immunoprophylaxis programme. Based on the evidence presented here for France, physicians and payers should give increased attention to this treatment option.

Health insurance status and ambulatory care for children.

BACKGROUND: Many children in the United States lack health insurance. We tested the hypothesis that these children are less likely than children with insurance to visit a physician when they have specific conditions for which care is considered to be indicated. METHODS: We examined the association between whether children were covered by health insurance and whether they received medical attention from a physician for pharyngitis, acute earache, recurrent ear infections, or asthma. Data were obtained on the subsample of 7578 children and adolescents 1 through 17 years of age who were included in the 1987 National Medical Expenditures Survey, a national probability sample of the civilian, noninstitutionalized population. RESULTS: Uninsured children were more likely than children with health insurance to receive no care from a physician for all four conditions (unadjusted odds ratios, 2.38 for pharyngitis; 2.04 for acute earache; 2.84 for recurrent ear infections; and 1.87 for asthma). Multiple logistic-regression analysis was subsequently used to control for age, sex, family size, race or ethnic group, region of the country, place of residence (rural vs. urban), and household income. After adjustment for these factors, uninsured children remained significantly more likely than insured children to go without a visit to a physician for pharyngitis (adjusted odds ratio, 1.72; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.11 to 2.68), acute earache (1.85; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.15 to 2.99), recurrent ear infections (2.12; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.28 to 3.51), and asthma (1.72; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.05 to 2.83). CONCLUSIONS: As compared with children with health insurance, children who lack health insurance are less likely to receive medical care from a physician when it seems reasonably indicated and are therefore at risk for substantial avoidable morbidity.

Ear disease in rural New Zealand school children.

Surveys of children aged 5--17 in a predominantly rural area showed a high prevalence of inflamed ears and perforated drums in younger subjects and of perforated and scarred drums in older subjects. Abnormal drums were associated wtih lower socioeconomic status, ethnicity and low altitude and low rainfall. Maori children had both higher incidence and lower recovery rates than non-Maori children. The wider use of trained nurses for case detection and follow up is advocated, at an estimated cost of 53 cents per child examination. Further parent education and co-ordination of nurse/audiometrist surveys are necessary.