SAC/VAL is associated with clinical benefit and may be cost-effective compared with the current standard of care over realistic treatment durations from the payer perspective. Results of this analysis can inform discussions on the value and position of SAC/VAL in the current market.

Results support the content validity of the IBS patient-reported outcome measures. A pilot study was recently initiated to inform item reduction, develop scoring algorithms, and provide preliminary psychometric information. Comprehensive psychometric evaluation and responder definition development will follow.

The hypothenar hammer syndrome is an uncommon lesion of the ulnar artery caused by repetitive trauma to the ulnar portion of the hand. It characteristically occurs in the dominant hand of middle-aged craftsmen, but also in athletes practising various types of sports. We present a retrospective study of nine patients between 1988 and 1999. The follow-up ranged from 1 to 10 years. We recommend surgical treatment, by resection of the involved arterial segment and revascularization either by direct anastomosis or by means of a venous interpositional graft.

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Objectives: Cardiovascular (CV) events are a leading cause of premature mortality and extended morbidity in Canada. While the direct costs of the burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) are well-studied, the indirect costs due to lost productivity, caregiver burden, disability, and mortality are not as well understood. In order to characterize these costs, we conducted a literature review of the indirect costs of CVD in Canada. MethOds: A targeted literature review of the Ovid MEDLINE, Wiley's Cochrane Library, HEED, and Web of Science databases over the years 2000-2015 was conducted using MeSH terms and other keywords. Studies published in English, presenting indirect costs associated with CVD or CVD-related conditions in Canada were included. Costs were inflated to $2015 CDN dollars. Results: Out of 122 records identified by the literature search, 104 citations were excluded based on abstract screening. Full-text review of the remaining 18 studies resulted in the exclusion of 11 studies, while 7 studies were included for analysis. These 7 studies provided indirect costs associated with stroke (n= 3), myocardial infarction (n= 2), heart failure (n= 2), angina (n= 2) and coronary artery disease (n= 1). Most studies were prospective studies (n= 5) and estimated indirect costs in terms of productivity losses using the human capital method. Indirect costs ranged from $3 (heart failure) to $22,270 (stroke) per patient. cOnclusiOns: There are very few studies that have evaluated the indirect cost of CVD in Canada. In addition, the magnitude of the cost estimates varied widely between studies based on the patient population, availability of data, and calculation method selected.