Our findings suggest that AA + P + ADT is at least as effective as DOC + ADT in reducing the risk of death in men with mHSPC and better at preventing disease progression and improving QoL. The NMA provides useful insights to clinicians and other decision-makers on the relative efficacy of treatment options for men with mHSPC.

HD is expected to achieve significant reductions in influenza-related morbidity and mortality. Further, HD is a cost effective alternative to both IIV3 and IIV4 in seniors. Our conclusions were robust in the face of sensitivity analyses.

Ontario, Canada, immunizes against influenza using a trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV3) under a Universal Influenza Immunization Program (UIIP). The UIIP offers IIV3 free-of-charge to all Ontarians over 6 months of age. A newly approved quadrivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (IIV4) offers wider protection against influenza B disease. We explored the expected cost-utility and budget impact of replacing IIV3 with IIV4, within the context of Ontario’s UIIP, using a probabilistic and static cost-utility model. Wherever possible, epidemiological and cost data were obtained from Ontario sources. Canadian or U.S. sources were used when Ontario data were not available. Vaccine efficacy for IIV3 was obtained from the literature. IIV4 efficacy was derived from meta-analysis of strain-specific vaccine efficacy. Conservatively, herd protection was not considered. In the base case, we used IIV3 and IIV4 prices of $5.5/dose and $7/dose, respectively. We conducted a sensitivity analysis on the price of IIV4, as well as standard univariate and multivariate statistical uncertainty analyses. Over a typical influenza season, relative to IIV3, IIV4 is expected to avert an additional 2,516 influenza cases, 1,683 influenza-associated medical visits, 27 influenza-associated hospitalizations, and 5 influenza-associated deaths. From a societal perspective, IIV4 would generate 76 more Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) and a net societal budget impact of $4,784,112. The incremental cost effectiveness ratio for this comparison was $63,773/QALY. IIV4 remains cost-effective up to a 53% price premium over IIV3. A probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed that IIV4 was cost-effective with a probability of 65% for a threshold of $100,000/QALY gained. IIV4 is expected to achieve reductions in influenza-related morbidity and mortality compared to IIV3. Despite not accounting for herd protection, IIV4 is still expected to be a cost-effective alternative to IIV3 up to a price premium of 53%. Our conclusions were robust in the face of sensitivity analyses.

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BackgroundThe 1-hour (h) algorithm triages patients presenting with suspected acute myocardial infarction (AMI) to the emergency department (ED) towards “rule-out,” “rule-in,” or “observation,” depending on baseline and 1-h levels of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs-cTn). The economic consequences of applying the accelerated 1-h algorithm are unknown.Methods and findingsWe performed a post-hoc economic analysis in a large, diagnostic, multicenter study of hs-cTnT using central adjudication of the final diagnosis by two independent cardiologists. Length of stay (LoS), resource utilization (RU), and predicted diagnostic accuracy of the 1-h algorithm compared to standard of care (SoC) in the ED were estimated. The ED LoS, RU, and accuracy of the 1-h algorithm was compared to that achieved by the SoC at ED discharge. Expert opinion was sought to characterize clinical implementation of the 1-h algorithm, which required blood draws at ED presentation and 1h, after which “rule-in” patients were transferred for coronary angiography, “rule-out” patients underwent outpatient stress testing, and “observation” patients received SoC. Unit costs were for the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Germany. The sensitivity and specificity for the 1-h algorithm were 87% and 96%, respectively, compared to 69% and 98% for SoC. The mean ED LoS for the 1-h algorithm was 4.3h—it was 6.5h for SoC, which is a reduction of 33%. The 1-h algorithm was associated with reductions in RU, driven largely by the shorter LoS in the ED for patients with a diagnosis other than AMI. The estimated total costs per patient were £2,480 for the 1-h algorithm compared to £4,561 for SoC, a reduction of up to 46%.ConclusionsThe analysis shows that the use of 1-h algorithm is associated with reduction in overall AMI diagnostic costs, provided it is carefully implemented in clinical practice. These results need to be prospectively validated in the future.

Background Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is associated with substantial morbidity in the United States, especially among infants. Nirsevimab, an investigational long-acting monoclonal antibody, was evaluated as an immunoprophylactic strategy for infants in their first RSV season and for its potential impact on RSV-associated, medically attended lower respiratory tract illness (RSV-MALRTI) and associated costs. Methods A static decision-analytic model of the US birth cohort during its first RSV season was developed to estimate nirsevimab’s impact on RSV-related health events and costs; model inputs included US-specific costs and epidemiological data. Modelled RSV-related outcomes included primary care and emergency room visits, hospitalizations including intensive care unit admission and mechanical ventilations, and RSV-related mortality. Results Under current standard of care, RSV caused 529 915 RSV-MALRTIs and 47 281 hospitalizations annually, representing $1.2 billion (2021 US dollars [USD]) in costs. Universal immunization of all infants with nirsevimab is expected to reduce 290 174 RSV-MALRTI, 24 986 hospitalizations, and expenditures of $612 million 2021 USD. Conclusions An all-infant immunization strategy with nirsevimab could substantially reduce the health and economic burden for US infants during their first RSV season. While this reduction is driven by term infants, all infants, including palivizumab-eligible and preterm infants, would benefit from this strategy.

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Significant changes in the optical properties of nanometer-size Ag clusters embedded in high-purity silica were obtained. Samples were prepared by 2 MeV Ag-ion implantation with fluences in the 2.8–3.8×1016 ions/cm2 range and subsequent annealing at various temperatures in air (oxidizing atmosphere) or in a hydrogen-rich atmosphere (reducing atmosphere). Changes consisted of large and small blueshifts of the resonance surface plasmon peak position, light absorption modification in the ultraviolet (UV) region, increased optical extinction in all the spectrum wavelength range, and different resonance peak height depending on annealing atmosphere. Optical property changes were analyzed in terms of Ag cluster size, interaction at cluster–matrix interface, cluster hydrogen content, diffusivity and conductivity. Bands in the UV region are reported.