Our study developed a Thai value set for EQ-5D using hybrid model. The findings from this study are of important to facilitate health technology assessment studies to inform policy decision-making as well as to promote the use of EQ-5D-5L in various health research in Thailand.

A variety of human symptoms have been associated with exposure to the dinoflagellate Pfiesteria and have been grouped together into a syndrome termed "possible estuary-associated syndrome." Prospective cohort studies of health effects associated with exposure to estuarine waters that may contain Pfiesteria spp. and related organisms are in progress in North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. The three studies recruited cohorts of 118-238 subjects who work or engaged in recreation in estuary waters. Baseline health and neuropsychological evaluations are conducted, and study subjects are followed prospectively for 2-5 years with periodic assessments of health and performance on a battery of neuropsychological tests. Health symptoms and estuary water exposure are recorded by telephone interviews or diaries every 1-2 weeks. Water quality information, including measurements of Pfiesteria spp., is collected in the areas where the subjects are working. Because it is not possible to measure individual exposure to Pfiesteria or a toxin produced by this organism, these studies examine surrogate exposure measures (e.g., time spent in estuary waters, in a fish kill area, or in waters where Pfiesteria DNA was detected by molecular amplification). Preliminary analyses of the first 2 years (1998-2000) of data indicate that none of the three ongoing cohorts have detected adverse health effects. However, there have not been any reported fish kills associated with Pfiesteria since the studies began, so it is possible that none of the study subjects have been exposed to toxin-producing Pfiesteria spp.

The rehabilitation services for stroke survivors were cost-effective under the Thai health care setting.

Background To evaluate the effectiveness of intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) and intravitreal ranibizumab (IVR) in actual practice for treating patients with retinal diseases in Thailand. Methods A prospective, multi-centre, observational study was conducted among eight hospitals in their ophthalmology outpatient departments. Participants consisted of patients who had previously not received any IVB or IVR treatment between 2013 and 2014. The primary outcome measurement was the change in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at the end of the follow-up period compared to baseline. Results There were 1629 treatment-naïve patients for the pro re nata (PRN) treatment pattern and 226 treatment-naive patients for the three-injections (3Inj) treatment pattern. BCVA improvements were found in 35% of the PRN group and 47% of the 3Inj group; however, it was not clinically meaningful between the IVB and IVR groups ( P -value = 0.568 for PRN, P-value = 0.103 for 3Inj). A multivariable logistic regression (using the propensity score) showed that positive factors associated with vision improvement for the PRN pattern were the number of drug injections, having retinal vein occlusion, and under 60 years of age, while good BCVA at baseline was a negative predictive factor. For the 3Inj pattern, under 60 years of age and baseline BCVA were statistically significant predictors. Nonetheless, diabetes mellitus (DM) without other comorbidities was a statistically significant predictor of low response to vision improvement compared to DM with other comorbidities. Conclusions This study was the first observational, prospective study to evaluate the real-life effectiveness of IVB and IVR in Thailand. The majority of participants who used IVB or IVR showed improvements in BCVA after treatment. Further evaluation such as long-term follow-ups and subsequent comparison of effectiveness between IVB and IVR should be investigated due to the limited sample of IVR patients. Trial registration Thai Clinical Trial Registry TCTR20141002001 . Registered 02 October 2014 (retrospectively registered).

In 188 HIV-infected children receiving efavirenz, a lower mid-dose (C12) was associated with a higher risk of HIV-1 viral load >400 copies/mL (P = 0.03). Simulations for a normalized population receiving US Food and Drug Administration weight-band dosing predicted that 15% of children would have a C12 below target threshold (<1.0 mg/L) with a 23% risk of viral replication.