[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s12959-018-0163-7.].

Venous thromboembolism (VTE, including deep vein thrombosis [DVT] and pulmonary embolism [PE]) has an annual incidence rate of 104-183 per 100,000 person-years. After a VTE episode, the two-year recurrence rate is about 17%. Consequently, effective and safe anticoagulation is paramount. Edoxaban is a direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) approved VTE treatment. Current safety and efficacy data are derived from clinical trials, and information about treatment durations beyond 12 months are not available.

While specific immunotherapy (SIT) has been proven to be cost effective for the treatment of allergic rhinitis compared to symptomatic treatment, there is a lack of European studies in which sublingual (SLIT) and subcutaneous (SCIT) immunotherapy were compared. The present analysis is focused on the cost-effectiveness of SCIT compared to SLIT and symptomatic treatment of grass pollen allergy in Austria, Spain and Switzerland. It will address specific properties of the underlying healthcare systems.

Non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) are being introduced for stroke prevention in non-valvular Atrial Fibrillation (AF), and promise to be accepted better than Vitamin K Antagonists (VKAs) by patients, improving their Quality of Life (QoL).

Whereas specific immunotherapy (SIT) has already been shown to be cost-effective in the treatment of allergic rhinitis compared with symptomatic treatment, only a small number of investigations have compared sublingual (SLIT) and subcutaneous (SCIT) immunotherapeutic approaches. This analysis discusses the cost-effectiveness of SCIT compared with SLIT and a symptomatic treatment modality. At the same time, particular attention is paid to preparation-specific characteristics.

The individual and societal burden of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is substantial. Identifying relevant factors deteriorating AD and inducing need for nursing care would be of high relevance for healthcare planning.

Chronic migraine (CM) is a neurological disorder associated with substantial disability. Botulinum toxin type A (Botox) is an approved and effective preventive treatment option for adult patients with CM. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is an alternative treatment device delivering a brief pre-set magnetic pulse used for self-administration by the patient at home. Despite being available in a risk share scheme TMS is perceived to be more costly in the UK. The objective of this study was to analyse the incremental costs of TMS compared to Botox in refractory CM patients both for a UK individual funding request setting as well as for an average UK specialist center setting.

Insertable or implantable cardiac monitors (ICMs) continuously monitor the heart rhythm and record irregularities over 3 years, enabling the diagnosis of infrequent rhythm abnormalities associated with syncope and stroke. The enhanced recognition capabilities of recent ICM models are able to accurately detect atrial fibrillation (AF) and have led to new applications of ICMs for the detection and monitoring of AF.

Incremental cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analyses [health economic evaluations (HEEs)] of vaccines are routinely considered in decision making on immunization in various industrialized countries. While guidelines advocating more standardization of such HEEs (mainly for curative drugs) exist, several immunization-specific aspects (e.g. indirect effects or discounting approach) are still a subject of debate within the scientific community.

Abstract Objective The main objective of this analysis was to assess the medical and economic differences between patients with and without diagnosed Alzheimer Disease (AD). Analysis included co-morbidities, patterns of drug use, and clinical course, as well as the magnitude of these differences attributable to AD. Methods This evaluation is based on retrospective analyses of anonymized claims data from 2005 to 2008 provided by a large German Statutory Health Insurance (SHI). Cross sectional analyses were performed with the following data: demographics, number of hospitalizations, number of in-patient days, number of ambulatory physician visits, number of drugs used, total number of defined daily doses (DDD) of prescribed drugs, and costs. A propensity score model was used to assess costs attributable to AD. Results Patients with AD caused substantially higher costs from the perspective of a SHI. The differences in long-term care costs explained 70-75% of the total cost difference, with being responsible for about half of the total costs in AD patients. Comparing matched AD patients with controls resulted in 2.2 to 2.4 fold higher costs in the cross-sectional analysis, 7,413-9,207 Euros for AD patients vs. 3,378-3,850 Euros for controls. The propensity score model resulted in a difference of 3,771 Euros attributable to AD. These costs are mainly caused by differences in hospitalization and long-term care costs. Conclusion This analysis is one of the largest health economic studies of AD in Germany. The limitations of this study include the fact that reported diagnosis couldn't be validated and disease severity was not taken into account. Despite these methodological constraints, it can be concluded, that AD is a substantial cost driver from the SHI payer perspective in Germany.

The purpose of the FAST-PVI study was to compare 'traditional' ablation tools based on 'point-by-point' technology with the new 'anatomically designed' technologies in terms of procedure times and related costs for the treatment of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

Economic evaluation of vaccination programs can be challenging and does not always fully capture the benefits provided. Reasons for this include the difficulties incurred in accurately capturing the health and economic impact of infectious diseases and how different diseases may interact with each other. Rotavirus infection, for example, peaks at a similar time than other infectious diseases, such as RSV and influenza, which can cause hospital overcrowding and disruption, and may pose a risk to more vulnerable children due to limited availability of isolation facilities. Another challenge, specific to evaluating childhood vaccination, is that QoL cannot be accurately measured in children due to a lack of validated instruments. Childhood diseases also incur a care giver burden, due to the need for parents to take time off work, and this is important to consider. Finally, for diseases such as RVGE, cost-effectiveness analyses in which longer time horizons are considered may not reflect the short-term benefits of vaccination. Further quantification of the economic impact of childhood diseases is thus required to fully highlight the true benefits of childhood vaccination that may be realized. Herein we explore the limitations of existing economic evaluations for childhood vaccination, and how economic analyses could be better adapted in future.

Subcutaneous specific immunotherapy (SCIT) is an effective treatment attenuating the progression of allergic asthma. To date, there is a lack of studies investigating the economic consequences of SCIT on health care expenditures.

Critical limb ischemia (CLI) has a significant impact on patients' quality of life (QoL). Despite cost utility evaluations being required by different authorities, data on patient health preferences and utilities for CLI are scarce. Hence, the objective of this study was to assess the impact of CLI on health preferences and health status of affected patients, and to generate health state utilities. In the International Study, 200 patients with CLI (stages III and IV according to Fontaine scale) were interviewed by trained interviewers with a discrete choice instrument, a standard gamble (SG), and the EuroQol-five dimension (EQ-5D) questionnaires (Marten Meesweg, Rotterdam, Netherland). Conjoint analysis showed that a planned amputation (33%) was the most relevant health attribute followed by ambulatory function (25%) and chronic pain (15%). Non-dependence on caregiver impacted on patient health state preference considerably, whereas healing of ulcer/skin lesions had less impact. Preference values obtained from the SG were 0.84, for an amputation subpopulation arriving at 0.70. The EQ-5D index values as well as the EQ-5D visual analog scale for patients with CLI were 0.56. The QoL data of patients with CLI result in decreased QoL and preference values with a planned amputation.

Atrial fibrillation (AF), a supraventricular tachycardia disorder, is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia affecting 1-2 % of the general population. Prevalence is highly related to age, with every fourth individual older than 40 years old developing AF during his lifetime. Due to an aging population, the prevalence of AF is estimated to at least double within the next 50 years. This article presents AF-related cost-of-illness studies and reviews 19 cost-effectiveness studies and six cost studies published roughly over the past decade, which have compared different antiarrhythmic medications for AF. A systematic literature search for studies published between June 2000 and December 2011 was conducted in PubMed using the combination of keywords ((atrial fibrillation OR atrial flutter) AND cost). Current cost-effectiveness analyses of dronedarone and the pill-in-the-pocket strategy are subject to substantial uncertainties with regard to clinical benefit. Comparing rate control with rhythm control, a cost-effectiveness advantage for rate control was shown in several but not all studies. Within antiarrhythmic drug treatments, magnesium added onto ibutilide was shown to be more cost effective than ibutilide alone. Comparing chemical and electrical cardioversion, the latter was recommended as more cost effective from the healthcare system perspective in all reviewed studies but one. Catheter ablation appeared more cost effective than antiarrhythmic drugs in the medium to long run after 3.2-63.9 years. Admissions to hospital, inpatient care and interventional procedures as well as mortality benefit are key drivers for the cost effectiveness of AF medications. No clear cost-effectiveness advantage emerged for one specific antiarrhythmic drug from the studies that compared antiarrhythmic agents. Rate control as well as catheter ablation appear more cost effective than rhythm control in the treatment of AF. Rate control treatment also seems more cost effective than electrical cardioversion in AF patients.

This review offers readers new aspects for the guideline-compliant care of asthma patients. Here, attention is focused on illustrating the bottlenecks in the administration of good and practicable therapeutic care and listing these as "major challenges for GPs". The interdisciplinary team of authors - consisting of three hospital-based pulmonologists, one pulmonologist in private practice, one internist in general practice, one pharmacist and one health economist discussed aspects of asthma therapy relevant in clinical practice. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Practicable results for the reader included an asthma pentagram, a graphic depicting the links and interactions between diagnosis, symptom management, communication, application and costs. From this emerged a consensus on four recommendations that can help GPs improve their care of their patients: (1) Whenever possible, have a specialist verifythe diagnosis. (2) Practice inhalation techniques with the patient and check up on their technique at regular intervals. (3) Monitor and fine-tune the therapeutic goals set down together with the patient. (4) Clearly define the (patient's) responsibilities and who is organizing care (communication between GP-specialist-patient-pharmacist-family members).

Healthcare systems across the globe are currently challenged by aging populations, increases in chronic diseases and the difficult task of managing a healthcare budget. In this health economic climate, personalized medicine promises not only an improvement in healthcare delivery but also the possibility of more cost-effective therapies. It is important to remember, however, that personalized medicine has the potential to both increase and decrease costs. Each targeted therapy must be evaluated individually. However, standard clinical trial design is not suitable for personalized therapies. Therefore, both scientists and regulatory authorities will need to accept innovative study designs in order to validate personalized therapies. Hence correct economic evaluations are difficult to carry out due to lack of clear clinical evidence, longitudinal accounting and experience with patient/clinician behavior in the context of personalized medicine. In terms of reimbursement, payers, pharmaceutical companies and companion diagnostic manufacturers will also need to explore creative risk-sharing concepts. Germany is no exception to the challenges that face personalized medicine and for personalized medicine to really become the future of medicine many health economic challenges first need to be overcome. The health economic implications of personalized medicine remain unclear but it is certain that the expansion of targeted therapies in current healthcare systems will create a host of challenges.

Coronary heart disease is an important disorder in Western industrialized societies, with regard to both the epidemiologic and economic burden of illness. A modern therapeutic strategy consists of coronary interventions and the implantation of drug-eluting vascular stents. The cost-effectiveness of such drug-eluting stents has been an important subject of health-economic evaluation research in recent years. This article presents two examples of such studies and deals with the question whether existing study projects are able to provide sufficient evidence for allocation decisions in health care. On this basis we discuss important challenges for future health economic analysis. A key conclusion is the need for long-term and cross-sectoral evaluation strategies that could be based on routinely collected health care data. Supplemented by health economic results from clinical trials, the use of such data would lead to a broader data basis for allocation decisions in health care.

Heart failure is an increasing burden for all healthcare systems with prevalence reaching over 20 million patients worldwide and direct costs of disease requiring ∼1% of healthcare budget expenditures. Beyond traditional pharmaceutical treatment, medical devices and remote monitoring tools were introduced to ensure a closely managed control of patients. In this context, a decision-maker needs to know whether the new technology provides clinical benefit towards patients and what resource use is attached to them.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the economic evaluation of the German Drug-Eluting Stent (DES) registry includes the investigation of the economic impact and cost-effectiveness of DES compared to bare-metal stents (BMS) and between paclitaxel-eluting (PES) and sirolimus-eluting stents (SES). Here, methodology and initial results are presented. METHODS: Patients were recruited in 2005 and 2006 in 87 centres across Germany. Selection of PES, SES, or BMS was made at the discretion of the cardiologists in charge. Clinical, economic, and quality of life (QoL) data were collected at baseline and up to 12 months. Group comparisons were conducted using Fisher's exact and t test. RESULTS: Overall, 3,930 patients were enrolled: 3,471 (75% male, 65 ± 11 years) received DES and 458 (74% male, 67 ± 11 years) BMS. Among the DES patients, 1,821 received PES (75% male, 65 ± 10 years) and 1,600 SES (76% male, 65 ± 11 years). There were baseline differences in clinical and procedural characteristics but not in QoL. During the hospital stay, major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events occurred in 1.6% of DES (PES 1.9%, SES 1.1%) and 2.2% of BMS patients (BMS vs. DES, PES, and SES p = 0.327, 0.706, and 0.098, respectively). Hospital treatment costs were 4,989 ± 1,284 <euro> and 3,609 ± 924 <euro>, respectively, in DES and BMS patients (p < 0.001) with no significant difference between PES and SES. CONCLUSION: The economic evaluation of the large DES registry demonstrates increased initial hospitalisation costs associated with DES compared to BMS. Further analysis of the economic impact and cost-effectiveness of DES will provide estimates on large "real world" patient populations for decision makers and aid in reimbursement decisions of DES within the German and other health care systems.