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Context: If the diameter of an aneurysm increases by more than 6 cm, the risk of aortic rupture increases by 50% within 10 years. Therefore, rupture of aneurysm, which is usually asymptomatic, can lead to severe complications and increase the risk of mortality. The current study aimed to systematically review studies comparing the cost-effective endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) and open surgical repair (OSR) as the primary treatment options for patients with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). Methods: An electronic search was conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, Science Direct, Scopus, and other scientific economic databases. Relevant articles were searched from 1999 to 2020 using keywords, such as “abdominal aortic aneurysm”, “endovascular”, “open surgery”, “rupture”, “economic evaluation”, and “cost-effectiveness”. The quality of articles was assessed using the Quality of Health Economic studies (QHES) checklist; finally, five articles were included in this review. Results: The results of the QHES checklist showed that most studies had a good quality. A third-party payer’s perspective was the dominant perspective in all selected studies, comparing EVAR with OSR. All studies considered the direct medical costs and did not disclose any discount rates, except for one study, reporting a 3.5% discount rate. Almost all included studies found EVAR to be a cost-effective intervention; only one study concluded that EVAR, with a cost-effectiveness ratio of €424,542, was not the best treatment option. Conclusion: In patients with ruptured AAAs, the EVAR intervention improved the quality of life, decreased the mortality rate, and shortened the hospital stay as compared to OSR.

Context: Congenital heart defect (CHD) is a leading cause of mortality by birth defects with significant social and economic burden. Pulse oximetry as a safe and non-invasive screening method, and recently its potential for early detection of CHD improved neonatal health outcomes. Objectives: The aim of this study was to systematically review economic evaluation studies that compared pulse oximetry with current programs to diagnose early detection of CHD in full-term newborns. Data Sources: A systematic review was conducted according to preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, and related articles published from 1995 up to March 2020 were searched in different databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Scopus, NHS EED, Science Citation Index, MagIran, Cochrane Library, EconLit and SID). The articles were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Consolidated health economic evaluation reporting standards (CHEERS) statement checklist was used to qualitatively evaluate the papers. Overall, 7 articles were included in the study. Results: Timely diagnosis was considered as main effectiveness health outcome in most studies. The highest and lowest values of incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (in two-phase studies) were €139,000 and $100 per infant in the Netherlands and Colombia respectively; and (in one-phase studies) were £24,000 and £1,489 per infant both belonging to the UK. Implementing pulse oximetry method concurrent with the clinical examination is more cost-effective. The reviewed studies had been conducted in high-income and upper middle-income countries; therefore, when the results are generalizing by policy makers in different health systems, a substantial precaution approach is needed.

Background: Cancer imposes a significant economic burden on the health system and society. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the third deadliest leukemia and is one of the leading health problems worldwide. The present study aimed to estimate the economic burden of AML in Iran for 2020. Methods: In this study, we estimated a prevalence-based on the cost-of-illness of the AML in Iran. A societal perspective was considered, in which the direct costs and productivity losses with the adoption of the human capital approach in the AML cases were estimated for 2020. Moreover, in the present study, several resources including national cancer registry reports, hospital records, occupational data, and interviews with experts were cited. Results: Approximately 98% of patients with AML received induction therapy. The AML economic burden was $33,243,107.39. Indirect costs accounted for 60% (21,593,764.4$) of this amount, and direct medical costs and direct non-medical costs make up for 19% (6,359,380.88$) and 16% (5,289,962.11$) of this estimated economic burden, respectively Conclusion: The economic burden of AML in Iran is very remarkable and due to the increasing prevalence of this disease, it is expected to increase gradually. Having insights into the costs associated with the disease provide an excellent opportunity for health policymakers and managers to effectively improve resource allocation.