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Risto P Roine

Publications and source records attributed to Risto P Roine.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Cost-utility of routine cataract surgery.

BACKGROUND: If decisions on health care spending are to be as rational and objective as possible, knowledge on cost-effectiveness of routine care is essential. Our aim, therefore, was to evaluate the cost-utility of routine cataract surgery in a real-world setting. METHODS: Prospective assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients undergoing cataract surgery. 219 patients (mean (SD) age 71 (11) years) entering cataract surgery (in 87 only first eye operated, in 73 both eyes operated, in 59 first eye had been operated earlier) filled in the 15D HRQoL questionnaire before and six months after operation. Direct hospital costs were obtained from a clinical patient administration database and cost-utility analysis performed from the perspective of the secondary care provider extrapolating benefits of surgery to the remaining statistical life-expectancy of the patients. RESULTS: Mean (SD) utility score (on a 0-1 scale) increased statistically insignificantly from 0.82 (0.13) to 0.83 (0.14). Of the 15 dimensions of the HRQoL instrument, only seeing improved significantly after operation. Mean utility score improved statistically significantly only in patients reporting significant or major preoperative seeing problems. Of the subgroups, only those whose both eyes were operated during follow-up showed a statistically significant (p < 0.001) improvement. Cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained was euro5128 for patients whose both eyes were operated and euro8212 for patients with only one eye operated during the 6-month follow-up. In patients whose first eye had been operated earlier mean HRQoL deteriorated after surgery precluding the establishment of the cost per QALY. CONCLUSION: Mean utility gain after routine cataract surgery in a real-world setting was relatively small and confined mostly to patients whose both eyes were operated. The cost of cataract surgery per quality-adjusted life year gained was much higher than previously reported and associated with considerable uncertainty.

Aged↗

Cost-effectiveness of implementing national guidelines in the treatment of acute otitis media in children.

OBJECTIVES: Acute otitis media (AOM) is one of the most common diseases of childhood, representing a major disease burden on the society. New evidence-based guidelines for AOM, focusing on children under 7 years of age, were introduced in Finland in 1999. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of implementing those guidelines in Finland. METHODS: A 5-year prospective trial was conducted in thirty community primary healthcare centers in Finland. All AOM patients between 0 and 6 years of age visiting the study health centers for the first time, for this episode of illness, during 1 week in November 1998 (n = 579) and November 2002 (n = 369) were included in this study. The outcome measure was the percentage of symptom-free patients. RESULTS: The mean direct cost of an AOM episode per patient stayed almost the same after implementing the guidelines, euro152 in 1998 and euro150 in 2002. After implementing the guidelines, the percentage of symptom-free patients was 10 percentage points higher than before the guidelines. The treatment after the implementation of the guidelines, thus, was a dominant strategy. CONCLUSIONS: Implementing the guidelines to the treatment of AOM in children was associated with extra health benefits at slightly lower direct costs and, thus, is a dominant strategy. The focus of this study was on the short-term effects of the treatment; including long-term effects in the analysis might affect the results.

Acute Disease↗

Cost-utility analysis of routine neurosurgical spinal surgery.

OBJECT: Cost-utility analysis is currently the preferred method with which to compare the cost-effectiveness of various interventions. The authors conducted a study to establish the cost-utility results of routine neurosurgery-based spinal interventions by examining patient-derived values. METHODS: Two hundred seventy patients undergoing surgery for cervical or lumbar radicular pain filled in the 15-dimensional health-related quality of life (HRQOL) questionnaire before and 3 months after surgery. Quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were calculated using the utility data and the expected remaining life years of the patients. The mean HRQOL score (scale, 0-1) increased after cervical surgery (169 patients, mean age 52 years, 40% women) from 0.81 +/- 0.11 preoperatively, to 0.85 +/- 0.11 at 3 months, and after lumbar surgery (101 patients, mean age 54 years, 59% women) from 0.79 +/- 0.10 preoperatively, to 0.85 +/- 0.12 at 3 months (p < 0.001). Of the 15 dimensions of health, improvement in the following was documented in both groups: sleeping, usual activities, discomfort and symptoms, depression, distress, vitality, and sexual activity (p < 0.05). The cost per QALY gained was Euro 2774 and 1738 for cervical and lumbar operations, respectively. In cases in which surgery was delayed the cost per QALY was doubled. CONCLUSIONS: Spinal surgery led to a statistically significant and clinically important improvement in HRQOL. The cost per QALY gained was reasonable, less than half of that observed, for example, for hip replacement surgery or angioplasty treatment of coronary artery disease; however, a prolonged delay in surgical intervention led to an approximate doubling of the cost per QALY gained by the treatment.

Adult↗

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Journal Article↗

Automatic speaking valve in speech rehabilitation for laryngectomized patients.

For speech rehabilitation after total laryngectomy, the Provox FreeHands Heat and Moisture Exchanger (FreeHands HME; Atos Medical AB, Hörby, Sweden) was compared with the Provox Heat and Moisture Exchanger (HME), and the patients' Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) was assessed. A review of the English literature was performed considering automatic speaking valves. The study design was a cohort study. Fourteen laryngectomized male patients who had used the HME successfully before receiving the FreeHands HME entered the study. An ENT specialist and a speech pathologist examined these patients. Data concerning voicing, breathing, skin adhesion, voice and speech quality, and HRQoL were collected by a structured questionnaire. Voice recordings were performed for evaluation of the quality of the voice. A computer-aided search of the MED-LINE database was conducted, supplemented by hand searches of key journals. Twelve patients had used the FreeHands HME on special social occasions and reported three main reasons why FreeHands HME was unsuitable for continuous use: heavier breathing, more difficult speaking, and worse subjective quality of voice. With HME, phonation time tended to be longer and the softest phonation softer ( P =0.034). The loudest phonation was louder with FreeHands HME ( P =0.015). Patients' HRQoL assessed by the 15D profile was similar to that of the age- and sex-matched male Finnish general population (patients 0.877, population 0.884). A review of the literature showed few works dealing with automatic speaking valves. The FreeHands HME is a useful additional device in a selected group of laryngectomized patients. Total laryngectomy did not lower patients' HRQoL notably.

Adult↗

Measuring cost-effectiveness of secondary health care: feasibility and potential utilization of results.

OBJECTIVES: Whether cost-effectiveness of secondary health care can be measured in a simple, yet commensurate way was studied. METHODS: Approximately 4,900 patients' health-related quality of life scores before and after treatment were measured. Used were a combination of quality of life data with diagnostic and financial indicators routinely collected in the hospital. RESULTS: Seventy percent of patients returned the first questionnaire and the informed written consent to participate. Of these patients, 80 percent also returned the second questionnaire sent out 3 to 12 months after treatment, depending on clinical specialty and diagnostic category. The routine of sending out questionnaires could be automated in such a way that data collection required only a limited amount of extra work. Patients were generally satisfied with the fact that the hospital was interested in their well-being also after treatment. No physician offered the chance to participate refused data collection in the patient group he or she was responsible for. The attitudes of the nursing staff were generally positive toward data collection, although it caused some extra work for some of them. The possibility of relating already routinely collected financial performance indicators with a relevant measure of treatment effectiveness, opened prospects for refined analysis of cost-effectiveness of secondary health care. CONCLUSIONS: Routine collection of health-related quality of life data as an indicator of treatment effectiveness is feasible, requires only a small amount of extra work, and is potentially very useful when combined with existing measures of hospital performance.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗