Objective: To estimate savings in the cost of caring for patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) during 6 months, 1 year and 2 years of treatment with rivastigmine. An intermediate objective was to estimate the relationship between disease progression and institutionalisation. Design and setting:...

Objective: To offer cost estimates of urinary incontinence (UI) in the general population based on prospectively collected data. Design: We analysed individual costs in a sample of women with UI who were identified in the framework of a cross-sectional study on the prevalence of UI in women aged...

Pharmaceutical expenditure is rising more rapidly than the general inflation rate in most advanced countries. One strategy that has been introduced to control pharmaceutical costs is reference-based pricing (RBP). Its potential is restricted to those specific segments of the drug market where...

Background: Use of unmodified interferon alpha-2a in chronic hepatitis C is associated with impaired health-related quality of life during therapy. Treatment with peginterferon alpha-2a (40kD) provides an improved sustained response over unmodified interferon alpha-2a. Objectives: To compare...

Patient-reported outcomes (PROs), including resource utilisation, productivity and quality of life, are important outcomes in the field of migraine. Clinical trials have begun to incorporate PROs; however, not all research questions can be answered fully within the framework of a clinical trial...

Abciximab is a monoclonal antibody fragment that inhibits platelet aggregation through antagonism of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa. The drug is used in conjunction with heparin and aspirin to prevent ischaemic complications associated with percutaneous coronary revascularisation in patients with...

Objective: To examine the medical costs and effectiveness of acute treatment with imipramine versus acute treatment plus 2 different maintenance therapies for panic disorder. Methods: A clinical decision model was constructed to estimate 18-month costs and outcomes associated with these...

Cost-effectiveness analysis has gained status over the last 15 years as an important tool for assisting resource allocation decisions in a budget-limited environment such as healthcare. Randomised (multicentre) multinational controlled trials are often the main vehicle for collecting primary...

Fluoxetine continues to be remarkably successful; greater volumes of this drug are sold than for any other antidepressant in the world. Prozac(R) has also become a household name. In this article we examine the circumstances that surround this success, and the evidence base that supports it....