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Biomedical subjects

L Garattini

Publications and source records attributed to L Garattini.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

Economic evaluation of ACE inhibitor treatment of nephropathy in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in Italy.

Diabetic nephropathy is one of the major complications of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), with proteinuria being the main clinical manifestation of diabetic nephropathy. Most patients who develop overt proteinuria progress to end-stage renal disease (ESRD), usually within 5 to 7 years; ESRD necessitates dialysis or renal transplantation. Although a relationship between blood pressure reduction and delaying of ESRD has been assumed for a long time, only recently has a controlled randomised clinical trial shown that the treatment of diabetic nephropathy with an ACE inhibitor can significantly delay the loss of renal function and, therefore, ESRD. Consistent with the clinical trial on which this economic evaluation was based, the costs and consequences of 2 alternatives were considered: (i) patients subject to blood pressure control with only antihypertensive medication, but without an ACE inhibitor (placebo group) and (ii) patients given ACE inhibitor therapy (captopril group) with similar blood pressure control to the placebo group. This cost-effectiveness analysis was performed from the perspective of the Italian National Health Service [Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN)]. Accordingly, only direct costs related to publicly funded healthcare services were included. The number of dialysis-years avoided (DYA) was the clinical end-point. A 10-year time horizon was considered for the economic evaluation. Captopril therapy was dominant, being at the same time more effective and less costly. The total cost for the captopril alternative during the 10-year period was 21,901,625 Italian lire (L; 1993 values) per patient, while total cost for the placebo alternative was L30,352,590 per patient. Compared with placebo, 20.01 DYA per 100 patients treated were estimated with captopril therapy during the trial period, equivalent to 2.4 months per patient. The robustness of this result was confirmed by sensitivity analysis: for both extremes, captopril remained dominant. This economic evaluation, requested by the Italian Ministry of Health, demonstrated savings in healthcare expenditure with the use of an ACE inhibitor in patients with proteinuria.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Economic evaluation of an educational campaign for early diagnosis of cutaneous melanoma.

Public educational campaigns for the early diagnosis of cutaneous melanoma are considered an effective approach in the prevention of this disease, since they increase the number of cases detected early and consequently lengthen patients' life expectancy. We performed an economic evaluation of such a campaign in Bergamo, Italy, in order to quantify its costs and consequences. We used cost-effectiveness analysis to compare the costs and effects of the campaign with those of the 'do nothing' option. The analysis was performed from the perspective of the Italian National Health Service [the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN)]. Accordingly, only direct costs related to publicly financed healthcare services were considered. No indirect costs or benefits were considered because they are not relevant to the SSN. Incremental analysis was used to obtain results in terms of additional costs per life-year saved (LYS). Overall LYS were quantified by comparing the survival curves for 4 subgroups of patients with different lesional thicknesses at diagnosis ( < 0.76mm, 0.76 to 1.50mm, 1.51 to 3.00mm and > 3.00mm). All costs were estimated in 1993 Italian lire (L). Overall effectiveness amounted to 233.49 LYS. Using a 5% discount rate, the value of effectiveness was 171.3 LYS. The total cost of the educational campaign (i.e. the sum of the organisational and 'induced' costs minus the costs saved) was estimated at L817 million (approximate 1993 exchange rate $US1 = L1573), and L905 million after discounting at a rate of 5%. Thus, using discounted cost and effectiveness data, the cost of the educational campaign was L5.28 million per LYS.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

How do Italian pharmacoeconomists evaluate indirect costs?

OBJECTIVES: To investigate how indirect costs are evaluated in pharmacoeconomic studies in Italy and the attitude of Italian pharmacoeconomists toward indirect costs. METHODS: A literature review was conducted, specifically focused on pharmacoeconomic studies including indirect costs carried out in Italy, and a suevey among Italian pharmacoeconomics experts. RESULTS: Nineteen studies were available for review. Although the methods used to calculate the value of production loss due to morbidity were all based on the Human Capital Approach (HCA), there was a wide variability among studies in practical methods. The parameters used to value production losses varied widely too. Of the 25 survey responders, 20 considered it important to include indirect costs in pharmacoeconomic studies; 56% of those interviewed stated that health authorities should require indirect cost evaluations. Most of these experts would include indirect cost estimates in drug-pricing calculation. CONCLUSIONS: In Italy studies evaluating indirect costs are still only few, although there is evidence of an increase. Italian pharmacoeconomists are far from reaching any consensus on methods for evaluating these costs. Methods need to be standardized particularly with respect to the parameters used to quantify productive time lost in monetary terms.

Journal Article↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The outpatient cost of diabetes care in Italian diabetes centers.

OBJECTIVE: To provide resource utilization patterns and cost estimates of outpatient care for types I and II diabetes mellitus in Italy, based on retrospectively collected data. DESIGN: Multicenter, retrospective observational study analyzing individual costs in a sample of patients with diabetes mellitus. STUDY POPULATION: A total of 2260 patients were stratified into eight groups by type of diabetes, glycemic control, and age. SETTING: Thirty-five centers for diabetes care in Italy. RESULTS: The per-patient cost of treatment was [symbol: see text] 136.8 in two months for type I diabetes (N = 592) and [symbol: see text] 123.3 for type II diabetes (N = 1668). Pharmaceutical therapy consisting of antidiabetic drugs only accounted for only 32% to 36% of treatments cost in type I patients and between 13% and 24% in type II. Diagnostic tests accounted for 27% to 42% of treatment costs in patients with both type I and type II diabetes, day-hospital days accounted for 15% to 22% in type I, 25% to 27% in type II, and consultations accounted for 16% to 20% in type I patients and between 17% and 21% in type II diabetes. CONCLUSION: Despite limitations caused by the short period considered, and considering that in Italy the cost of diabetes has received limited attention, we believe this study presents some interesting information on the burden of diabetes in this country.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Quality of vision: A consensus building initiative for a new ophthalmologic concept.

PURPOSE: Many studies have addressed the quantification of visual acuity, and the conventional method of measuring it has so far demonstrated serious limitations. Vision testing requires new methods that can more precisely express the quality of vision as perceived by the patient. METHODS: This study employed the Delphi method of consensus building. Concepts associated with quality of vision (QoV) were identified by a board of experts and proposed to participating specialists in two subsequent questionnaires. Upon receipt of the completed questionnaires, the replies were classified to determine the building blocks of a consensus. RESULTS: By analyzing the replies to the two questionnaires, the authors determined the key elements of QoV on which a consensus was found among the respondents. CONCLUSIONS: A consensus was reached on the opinion that the quantification of visual acuity by traditional means is inadequate for investigating QoV. Although visual acuity is still a basic element for testing, the experts believe that contrast sensitivity, reading speed, and microperimetry are additional parameters necessary for quantifying QoV. The use of a psychometric questionnaire on visual function could allow a better interpretation of visual impairment.

Consensus↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Health status indicators: features of the economic approach].

Quality of Life (QoL) instruments are often considered similar, since they all concern subjective health state valuations. Actually, among the set of QoL scales, it is possible to distinguish two approaches, different in terms of both goals and tools. The clinical approach elicits functional limitations as perceived by patients, the economic approach is aimed at solving allocation problems generated by scarsity of resources. The major goal of this article is to analyse the economic approach to health state subjective valuation. By using QoL questionnaires, economists attempt to set up quantitative indexes which can value any kind of health outcome. Thus the economic approach seems to be more ambitious than the clinical one. However, the results so far achieved are quite disappointing, especially if compared to those of the clinical approach. In particular, economic scales still suffer a general lack of validation, due to the scarcity of studies conducted on relevant samples. Accordingly, indexes now available seem to require substantial revision. In general, further significant efforts seem necessary to improve the methodology inside the field of HRQoL measures. Integrating the two approaches, as recently attempted, could be a sound strategy.

Attitude to Health↗