Background: Previous studies of economic content in medical journal advertisements have not examined all types of economic content and have not included advertisements for medical devices. Objective: To examine trends in the economic content of medical device and pharmaceutical advertisements in...

Background: The primary characteristics of restless legs syndrome (RLS), including severe sleep disorders, restlessness in the evening and discomfort while at rest, have substantial impact on normal daily activities. Because of the high prevalence of RLS in the general population, it is...

Background: Osteoporosis is a condition marked by low bone mineral density and the deterioration of bone tissue. One of the main clinical and economic consequences of osteoporosis is skeletal fractures. Objective: To assess the healthcare and work loss costs of US patients with non-vertebral...

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the CNS, typically striking adults during the primary productive time of their life. The symptoms of MS can restrict the individual's physical activity and income-earning ability, resulting in a major financial burden on the patient, family, health system...

Background: Abacavir sulfate (abacavir) is associated with a hypersensitivity reaction (HSR) that affects 5-8% of patients. While serious complications are rare, failure to identify it, or abacavir re-challenge following HSR, can be fatal. Genetic screening for HLA-B*5701 can identify patients...

Background: Actinic keratosis (AK) is caused by chronic exposure to UV radiation (sunlight). First-line treatments are cryosurgery, topical 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and topical diclofenac. Where these are contraindicated or less appropriate, alternatives are imiquimod and photodynamic therapy...

Background: A common way of describing UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) decisions is to distinguish between cases where NICE recommended use of a healthcare technology by all relevant patients ('yes'); those where it did not recommend use ('no'); and those where...

Background: Mathematical models are commonly used to predict future benefits of new therapies or interventions in the healthcare setting. The reliability of model results is greatly dependent on accuracy of model inputs but on occasion, data sources may not provide all the required inputs....