CRT-D plus OPT may be a cost-effective alternative for the treatment of patients with CHF in NYHA functional class III and IV depending on device longevity.

Adding hs-CRP to traditional risk factors improves risk prediction, but the clinical relevance and cost-effectiveness of this improvement remain unclear.

No abstract

A351general hospital (PB 6M€ ). We chose 24 active ingredients (95 different antibiotics) that represent about 1/3 of total hospital antibiotics and 80% of the total antibiotics' budget. We studied their consumption for the years 2011 and 2012 and calculated the costs based on the official drug pricelist and their price after the negotiation. Results: From 2011 to 2012 the discounts gained from each hospital were increased. Price negotiation does not apply in prototype drugs that their companies are only obliged to offer a 5% rebate. Unfortunately, these medications are more expensive, represent 36% of the studied antibiotics' cost and their consumption was increased by 20%. But, the discounts for all the studied off-patent drugs and their generics were from 12.8% till 89.9%. Thus, the total cost saving for them was 33.2% at PAGNI, 26.0% at Evaggelismos and 43.1% at Tzaneio. The total benefit for the pharmaceutical expenditure was 3% for both PAGNI and Evaggelismos, and 6% for Tzaneio. ConClusions: Price negotiation is an effective mean of decreasing the cost of off-patent and generic drugs but newer and expensive drugs get doctors' preference, undermining the Pharmacy's cost-saving effort.

According to available studies, there is clear evidence for the equivalent effectiveness of LH-RH analogues and orchiectomy in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. A change back to orchiectomy - even though it is more cost-efficient - cannot be recommended when taking the extended indications for temporary hormone deprivation into consideration.