No abstract

Background: The cost-effectiveness acceptability curve (CEAC) is a method for summarizing the uncertainty in estimates of cost-effectiveness. The CEAC, derived from the joint distribution of costs and effects, illustrates the (Bayesian) probability that the data are consistent with a true costeffectiveness ratio falling below a specified ceiling ratio. The objective of the paper is to illustrate how to construct and interpret a CEAC.

Objective To quantify an association between acute kidney injury and use of high potency statins versus low potency statins.Design Retrospective observational analysis of administrative databases, using nine population based cohort studies and meta-analysis. We performed as treated analyses in each database with a nested case-control design. Rate ratios for different durations of current and past statin exposure to high potency or low potency statins were estimated using conditional logistic regression. Ratios were adjusted for confounding by high dimensional propensity scores. Meta-analytic methods estimated overall effects across participating sites.

Health states related to CHB infection have substantial reductions in HRQOL and the utilities reported in this study provide valuable information for comparing new treatment options. The observed intercountry differences suggest that economic evaluations may benefit from country-specific utility estimates. The extent that systematic intercountry differences in utilities hold true for other infectious and chronic diseases remains an open question and has considerable implications for the proper conduct and interpretation of economic evaluations.

Using the Morisky scale to identify patients who have been nonadherent with chronic cardiovascular medications may be reasonable in some settings; however, the threshold score would have to be chosen based on a trade-off between sensitivity and PPV. These results were likely influenced by the low rate of nonadherence in this cohort. Rewording the questions, increasing the number of questions, and the use of graded response options may improve consistency.