Objective: Data from the Acute Infarction Ramipril Efficacy (AIRE) study were used in a cost-effectiveness analysis to determine the incremental cost per life-year gained (LYG) when the ACE inhibitor ramipril was added to conventional treatment in patients with heart failure after acute...

Heart failure (HF) is a common and expensive cardiovascular disease, in economic terms as well as in lives lost. Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors have been shown to significantly reduce mortality and hospitalisation in HF. However, recent surveys show that the prescription rate of...

The cost effectiveness of early treatment with lisinopril in acute myocardial infarction (MI) was estimated using survival and cost data gathered prospectively during the hospitalisation of the overall population of patients enrolled in the third study of the Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della...

Background: Current hypertension guidelines differ in their recommendations for first-line antihypertensive therapy. Objective: To evaluate the cost effectiveness of ACE inhibitor therapy as antihypertensive first-line therapy as compared with conventional antihypertensive therapy with...

There has been much recent debate in the health economics literature as to the (near) equivalence of cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA). The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that whether such a (near) equivalence exists depends on whether one defines economic...

Pharmacoeconomic data may be obtained within the context of randomised clinical trials (RCTs) and from effectiveness studies in the `real world'. The differences between the 2 types of study design have implications for the types of data that can be obtained and the interpretation of the...

Meta-analysis is used to statistically pool the results from individual studies, usually randomised trials, to obtain an estimate of the summary effect size across studies. The summary measure from a meta-analysis is often used to derive the probability of treatment success in a...

A short term (6-month) cost-effectiveness model has been developed to simulate current medical practice and disease progression in patients with type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus uncontrolled by diet and exercise. The model is based on decision-analytical techniques and includes...

The need to demonstrate the cost effectiveness of healthcare interventions has led to a rapid increase in the use of economic tools within pharmaceutical evaluations. Pharmacoeconomics is employed at many stages of the evaluation process, helping to predict which products are likely to be...

We reviewed the literature on the efficacy and effectiveness of beta-blocker therapy and examined the economic consequences of under-utilisation. Despite the literature documenting the value of beta-blockers, the therapy is not prescribed at the appropriate rates. Approximately half of acute...