Anaemia develops in most patients undergoing cancer therapy and invariably induces fatigue, which is a major determinant of QOL. Blood transfusions are reserved for patients with severe anaemia, since blood is a scarce resource and provides a short-lived benefit. Epoetins are recombinant...

Introduction: Oxybutynin and tolterodine are two drugs widely used for the management of overactive bladder and urge urinary incontinence. The once-daily, extended-release formulations benefit from being well tolerated and efficacious. However, their costs, compared with generic...

The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the epidemiology, diagnosis, screening and pharmacotherapy of Chlamydia trachomatis infections in adolescents and adults, together with a critical review of economic studies published on this topic. C. trachomatis continues to produce enormous...

The use of decision-analytic modelling for the purpose of health technology assessment (HTA) has increased dramatically in recent years. Several guidelines for best practice have emerged in the literature; however, there is no agreed standard for what constitutes a `good model' or how models...

The Canadian Common Drug Review (CDR) was established in 2003 to provide a single process for making formulary recommendations to most Canadian publicly funded drug plans. This paper considers the most common challenges faced by the CDR: (a) determining the effectiveness of a drug (particularly...

Background: Whilst lung cancer is the most common form of cancer in England and Wales (annual incidence rate of 50 per 100 Objective: To develop a model to assess the economics of second-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) from the perspective of the UK NHS, based on the...

Rationale: Roflumilast is an oral, once-daily phosphodiesterase IV (PDE4) inhibitor under investigation for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study investigated the cost effectiveness of roflumilast in patients with severe to very severe COPD from the perspective of the UK...

We reviewed the clinical measures used in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) economic evaluations with respect to their relevance and sensitivity to changes in survival, health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) and costs. We compared the measures from the economic perspective and discussed the validity of...

Even with the development of the serotonin 5-HT3 receptor antagonists in recent years, postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) remains a significant concern for clinicians and patients. For the selection of an appropriate antiemetic strategy for PONV, economic considerations should be taken...