bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
VP22 Cancer Drugs Fund Allocation Under The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE): The First Six Months
Authors: Liden Daniel , Pontynen Anson , Jaksa Ashley , Rubinstein Judith 
Published: January 2018

INTRODUCTION:As of July 2016, funding from England's Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) is dispensed based on the results of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) technology appraisal guidances instead of independent CDF appraisals (1). NICE can recommend providing temporary CDF funding for drugs that have potential to demonstrate cost-effectiveness after further data collection (2). This analysis examines drugs considered for temporary CDF funding since the start of this new process in July 2016.METHODS:We collected all final NICE oncology technology appraisal guidances completed before the end of 2016 and noted whether each drug was considered for or awarded CDF funding and which factors impacted the decision to give or withhold CDF funding (3).RESULTS:We identified twenty-one NICE oncology reviews completed between July 2016 and the end of 2016. Of these reviews, only one was recommended for temporary funding under the CDF because further data collection had the potential to significantly reduce incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs). Three further reviews were considered for temporary CDF funding but ultimately received negative decisions. In all three cases, NICE found no potential for further data collection to sufficiently improve ICERs. The evaluations also noted that the manufacturers either did not intend or did not have sufficient time to prepare a case for CDF funding.CONCLUSIONS:NICE focused strongly on evidence maturity in making CDF funding decisions. The only drug recommended for CDF funding had immature trial data with uncertainties that could be resolved by further data collection. The three drugs that did not receive CDF funding had relatively mature evidence that would not be improved through further data collection. Timing was also an issue: two reviews specifically noted that the manufacturers had insufficient time to prepare strong cases for CDF funding. The CDF historically had significant budget issues, so NICE may be trying to be more judicious in allocating CDF funding.
VP25 African Countries Are Working Together To Enhance Medicine Use
Authors: Massele Amos , Afriyie Daniel , Burger Johanita , Ezenduka Charles , Fadare Joseph , Kalungia Aubrey , Kibuule Dan , Meyer Johanna , Ogunleye Olayinka , Oluka Margaret , Truter Ilse , Godman Brian 
Published: January 2018

INTRODUCTION:The socioeconomic burden of diseases is increasing in Africa. For instance in 2011, 70 percent of the world's human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) population resided in sub-Sahara Africa. There are also growing rates of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), which necessitates newer more expensive antibiotics adding to costs. There is also a growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), three out of four patients with hypertension currently live in low and middle income countries (LMICs), with prevalence rates up to 30 to 45 percent among adults in Africa. Alongside this, up to 70 percent of total healthcare expenditure is spent on medicines in LMICs; much of this out-of-pocket. Consequently, there is an urgent need to strengthen collaborative research to improve medicine use.METHODS:Summary of groups working together in Africa including the Medicines Utilisation Research in Africa (MURIA) group.RESULTS:African Strategies for Health identifies and advocates best practices, as well as works with others to develop sustainable solutions. Pharmacology for Africa (PharfA) organises and promotes pharmacology on the African continent, including research in clinical pharmacology, alongside the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR) sub-division. International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) Africa co-ordinates activities from the different African country chapters. The South African Health Technology Assessment Society (SAHTAS) is a scientific and professional society for all those who produce, use, or encounter Health Technology Assessment (HTA) in Southern Africa, and the World Health Organization (WHO) International and Regional groups are improving antibiotic drug utilization capabilities in Africa. The MURIA group was established in 2015 (1). Ongoing collaborative research includes (i) initiatives to optimize antibiotic use; (ii) methods to enhance adherence to anti-infective prescribing guidance, (iii) approaches to improve adherence to HIV and NCDs; (iv) researching current anti-hypertensive utilization patterns and knowledge; (v) approaches to enhance Drugs and Therapeutic Committees (DTC) activities, and (vi) strengthening medicine utilization capabilities (2,3). These activities have already strengthened research ties across Africa.CONCLUSIONS:A number of groups are already working across Africa to enhance appropriate medicine use, and should continue. Ongoing MURIA activities include antibiotic point-prevalence studies, ongoing research into infectious diseases, NCDs and DTCs including adherence as well as the third workshop and symposium in Namibia in 2017.
VP71 Health Technology Assessment In Japan: Current Issues And Challenges
Authors: Kido Kaori , Matsumaru Naoki , Tsukamoto Katsura 
Published: January 2018

INTRODUCTION:Japan plans to introduce Health Technology Assessment (HTA) in 2018 after a two-year trial period. Japan currently requires HTA for certain innovative products which may have a large budget impact. Through this trial implementation, the government can examine the criteria of applicable products, the necessary infrastructure to conduct and evaluate HTA, the quality of data content, and localization to meet the current Japanese reimbursement and pricing scheme. However, the pharmaceutical industry in Japan is still puzzled by this introduction. The aim of this study is to visualize the issues and implementation challenges of HTA in Japan through a survey of the pharmaceutical industry.METHODS:A semi-structured nineteen-item questionnaire was designed and the survey was conducted through face-to face or phone interviews. Answers were summarized after the interview and confirmed with the respondents via e-mail. The survey focused on pharmaceutical companies which develop new innovative products.RESULTS:The differences between Japanese and non-Japanese pharmaceutical companies were observed in terms of HTA staff expertise and experience, the source of HTA data, and relationships with external vendors. Many respondents stated that a sufficient number of HTA professionals in Japan is critical to implement HTA, and raised a concern that the same public experts who are involved in HTA preparation may also review HTA submissions. Although companies are generally pessimistic about HTA for pharmaceutical pricing, they also have some positive views that HTA may be used as an indicator to enable stakeholders to understand product value. Many are unsure about the link between HTA and pharmaceutical prices.CONCLUSIONS:If HTA is implemented for an extended number of products, a shortage of experts may cause delays of HTA review and appraisal processes. Consequently, product launch and patient access will be delayed. Practical timing of HTA review and appraisal after product launch could affect the results of re-pricing.
VP84 A Synthetic Index To Assess The Quality Of Care Of Acute Hospitals
Authors: Ortiz Laura Muñoz , Robles Noemi , Davins Josep , Espallargues Mireia , Mercader Mercè , Oliva Gloria 
Published: January 2018

INTRODUCTION:One of the initiatives promoted by the Department of Health of Catalonia to promote the policies of clinical safety and quality of care was the construction of a synthetic indicator to obtain a global ranking that assess the quality of care and recognizes the best acute hospitals in Catalonia.METHODS:For the selection of dimensions and individual indicators, focus groups with experts, focus groups with patient representatives and a wide consensus process with health professionals were carried out. Weights of dimensions and indicators have been obtained from this consensus with experts. We identified fourty-seven individual indicators grouped into four dimensions, fourty-nine hospitals grouped into five categories were included. Goal programming methodology was used to construct synthetic dimensional indicators and then aggregate to obtain the global ranking based on the global synthetic indicator.RESULTS:The best situation regarding quality of care of general acute hospitals is achieved in hospitals with better indicators of both the clinical effectiveness and adequacy dimension and patient safety, specifically the synthetic indicator places the hospitals with lowest percentage of patients with postoperative complications or with lowest percentage of infections of organ-space surgical localization in elective colonic or rectal surgery in a better position. Both in the synthetic global indicator and in the synthetic dimensional indicators, position the county hospitals as the best in the ranking, followed by reference hospitals.CONCLUSIONS:We have presented a new methodology to assess the quality of care of hospitals which offers several advantages over existing ones. It is designed to be practical and to facilitate obtaining synthetic indicators that can be easily interpreted, based on information provided by the reference value corresponding to each indicator and adjusted by the clinical criterion supported by the consensus of more than 300 experts in the field of the evaluation of hospital care quality.
VP122 Cryoballoon Versus Radiofrequency Ablation For Atrial Fibrillation
Authors: Wang Gongru , Chen Yingyao , Shi Lizheng , Chen Danni , Sun Hui 
Published: January 2018

INTRODUCTION:Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is a new effective treatment for atrial fibrillation (AF) (1). The standard of care for ablation methods using radiofrequency (RF) is time-consuming and technically challenging (2), and restricted to a few specialized centers, which causes the limited availability of ablation therapy (3). Therefore, cryoballoon (CB) ablation has been developed to shorten and simplify the procedure. The objective of this systematic literature review and meta-analysis was to compare the effectiveness of cryoballoon ablation (CBA) with radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for the treatment of AF.METHODS:We searched the Cochrane Library and PubMed from 2009 to October 2016 to screen the eligible literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The effectiveness measures were the acute pulmonary vein (PV) isolation rate, procedure time, complications and the proportion of patients free from AF (follow-up > 3 months). Meta-analysis and descriptive statistics were used in this study.RESULTS:A total of seventeen articles with 5,806 cases (2,288 from CBA group, 3,518 from RFA group) from seven different countries were reviewed and analyzed. Pooled analyses indicated that CBA was more beneficial in terms of procedural time (Standard mean difference, SMD = -.501; 95%CI: -.893– -.109; P<.05) for RFA; but the acute PV isolation rate (Odds ratio, OR = .06; 95 percent Confidence Interval, CI: .03–.13; P < .05) in RFA was higher than for CBA; also, after median follow-up of 14 months (range 9–28 months), the proportion of patients free from AF (OR = .965; 95 percent CI:.859—1.085; P = .554) and the total complication rates (OR = .937; 95 percent CI:.753–1.167; P = .562) were not significantly different between CBA and RFA.In the four randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of the seventeen studies, the proportion of patients free from AF (OR = .951; 95 percent CI:.752–1.202; P = .672) and the complications (OR = 1.521; 95 percent CI:.570–4.058; P = .402) were not significantly different between CBA and RFA.CONCLUSIONS:Overall, compared with RFA for the treatment of patients with AF, CBA had similar clinical effectiveness on the proportion of people free from AF and the number of complications, and yet greater improvement in total procedure time referred for CBA and higher acute PVI rate referred for RFA.
VP138 Integration Of Ethics In Health Technology Assessment
Authors: Bellemare Christian , Bédard Suzanne Kocsis , Dagenais Pierre , Béland Jean-Pierre , Bernier Louise , Daniel Charles-Etienne , Gagnon Hubert , Legault Georges-Auguste , Parent Monelle , Patenaude Johane 
Published: January 2018

INTRODUCTION:The objective was to identify the conceptual and methodological issues surrounding integration of ethics in Health Technology Assessment (HTA). We conducted a systematic review examining: (i) social needs, (ii) methodological and procedural barriers, (iii) concepts or processes of ethics assessment used and (iv) results of experimentations for integrating ethics in HTA.METHODS:Search criteria included ‘ethic’, ‘technology assessment’ and ‘HTA’. The literature search was done up to 21 November 2016 in Medline/Ovid, SCOPUS, CINAHL, PsycINFO and international HTA Database. Screening of citations, screening of full-text and data extraction were performed by two subgroups of two independent reviewers. The first group was constituted of HTA experts, and the second of ethics and philosophy experts. Data extracted from articles were regrouped in categories for each objective.RESULTS:A list of 2,420 citations was obtained while 1,646 remained after the removal of duplicates. Of these, 132 were fully reviewed, yielding 67 eligible articles for analysis. Eight categories were identified within the social needs. The mostly evoked were ‘Informed policy decision making’ (n = 16) and 'Informed public/patient decision making’ (n = 12). Ten categories of methodological and procedural barriers were identified. The most mentioned were 'Lack of standardized and recognized proceedings for ethical analysis’ (n = 28) and ‘Lack of shared consensus on the role of ethical theory and ethical expertise’ (n = 17). Within the concepts or processes of ethics assessment, thirteen categories were identified. The most mentioned were ‘Fairness and Equity’ (n = 12), ‘Beneficence and Non-maleficence’ (n = 10) and, ‘Autonomy’ (n = 10). Within results of experimentations, five categories were identified. The most mentioned was ‘Usefulness of ethics for identifying relevant problems’ (n = 3). While few experimentations were identified, no clear operational method was found in our research.CONCLUSIONS:This study confirms the necessity to design an operational method integrating ethics and addressing social needs of HTA. Our results constitute the basis for developing a new theoretical and practical method.
VP171 The Safety Of Barbed Sutures In Cosmetic Surgery
Authors: Lin Yifei , Du Liang , Huang Jin , Liao Ga , Zhang Yonggang 
Published: January 2018

INTRODUCTION:Knotless barbed sutures can eliminate knot tying when patients are undergoing cosmetic surgery (CS). Although benefits reported on clinical outcomes are obvious, many studies have failed to demonstrate the potential for barbed sutures to mitigate adverse events. Thus, this study aimed to determine the safety of knotless barbed suture in CS.METHODS:PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Register of Clinical Studies, and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies comparing barbed sutures with conventional sutures in CS (until 30 June 2016). Quality assessment was conducted using Cochrane recommendations. Review Manager was applied to analyze the data, and we sequentially omitted each study to perform sensitivity analyses.RESULTS:A total of five RCTs (low to moderate risk of bias) and six cohort studies (low to moderate risk of bias), proved eligible (3,481 patients). The CS included body contouring operations, breast reconstruction, lipoabdominoplasty, abdominoplasty and wound closure of cesarean delivery. Comparing to conventional sutures, pooling data showed that general adverse events of barbed sutures were not significantly different (Odds Ratio, OR = .6, 95 percent Confidence Interval, CI .24 to 1.52, P = .28), while the subgroup analysis showed that fewer adverse events occurred in cohort studies, though with high heterogeneity (I2 = 87 percent). Specifically, no significant differences were shown between barbed and traditional sutures in wound dehiscence (OR = .55, 95 percent CI .29 to 1.03, P = .06), incisional infection (OR = .56, 95 percent CI .22 to 1.48, P = .25), seroma (OR = .87, 95 percent CI .42 to 1.79, P = .70) and hematoma (OR = 1.52, 95 percent CI .29 to 7.99, P = .62).CONCLUSIONS:No differences were found between knotless barbed sutures and conventional sutures generally, but the cohort studies suggested barbed sutures resulted in fewer adverse events with longer follow-up. Thus barbed sutures are considered a safe surgical technique in CS. More evidence with larger sample sizes and longer follow up are needed to confirm the advantages of this technique in the future.
VP195 Using The ISSG Search Filter Resource In Health Technology Assessment
Authors: Wright Kath , Glanville Julie , Lefebvre Carol 
Published: January 2018

INTRODUCTION:Information specialists and others searching for Health Technology Assessments (HTAs) can use the ISSG Search Filter resource (SFR) to identify filters to incorporate into search strategies. This can save time and effort when designing searches and create more efficient searches that retrieve fewer and possibly more relevant database records (link available here: https://sites.google.com/a/york.ac.uk/issg-search-filters-resource/home).What are search filters? Search filters are collections of search terms designed to retrieve selections of records from bibliographic databases. Some filters are designed to retrieve records of specific study designs such as randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or systematic reviews; others aim to retrieve records relating to other features or topics such as the age or gender of study participants.Search filters may be designed to be sensitive, precise or balanced between sensitivity and precision.METHODS:When would you use a search filter in HTA? Search filters can be added to search strategies to limit to specific study types, for example, RCTs, mixed methods studies, systematic reviews. They can also be used when searching for other aspects of HTA such as patient views or specific age groups.The ISSG SFR includes sections listing search filters to help identify adverse effects, aetiology, economic evaluations, health state utility values, public views, and quality of life.RESULTS:How are filters used? A search filter is often used in combination with a topic search to restrict the search results to a specific type of record, for example, records reporting health state utility values or records of randomized controlled trials.CONCLUSIONS:Further guidance on the use of search filters can be found in the SuRe Info Search Filters chapter.
VP201 From A Systematic Review To Addressing Evidence Gaps
Authors: Österberg Marie , Hellberg Christel , Wallgren Lena 
Published: January 2018

INTRODUCTION:In both health care and social services it is important to continuously summarize and analyze existing research in the form of systematic reviews. At the Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services (SBU) (www.SBU.se) we collect the evidence gaps identified by systematic reviews in a database. These evidence gaps are methods used in health care/social services for which there is not enough good quality research available. By analyzing this database we can highlight populations or methods where evidence gaps are more frequent. This knowledge can be used to find areas that might need assistance in developing research structure and also when arranging research prioritization processes involving patients, consumers and clinicians.METHODS:Systematic reviews and evidence maps (methodical collections of systematic reviews) are used by SBU to identify evidence gaps. SBU has adapted the James Lindh alliance approach to give patients, consumers, relatives and clinicians the opportunity to give their view of what research they find most important to execute. SBU also collaborates with governmental research funders to communicate the content of the SBU database.RESULTS:A prioritizing process regarding evidence gaps within Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)-treatment has been finalized (1). This was accomplished by people with ADHD and caretakers, as well as clinicians and staff. Another prioritization process on the topic of treatments for injuries after vaginal birth is ongoing. In November 2016 the Swedish government presented the research policy bill where they, based on analyses of the SBU database, pointed out areas of specific importance in future research.CONCLUSIONS:It is of great importance that evidence gaps get addressed and that new research is promoted in order to fill these gaps. In areas where there are numerous gaps, prioritizations involving different stakeholders is needed. Considering areas with large amounts of evidence gaps the primary focus might be on building infrastructure surrounding research before research calls can be directed towards these areas.
Accelerating evaluation of converged lattice thermal conductivity
Authors: Qin Guangzhao , Hu Ming 
Published: January 2018

AbstractHigh-throughput computational materials design is an emerging area in materials science, which is based on the fast evaluation of physical-related properties. The lattice thermal conductivity (κ) is a key property of materials for enormous implications. However, the high-throughput evaluation of κ remains a challenge due to the large resources costs and time-consuming procedures. In this paper, we propose a concise strategy to efficiently accelerate the evaluation process of obtaining accurate and converged κ. The strategy is in the framework of phonon Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) coupled with first-principles calculations. Based on the analysis of harmonic interatomic force constants (IFCs), the large enough cutoff radius (rcutoff), a critical parameter involved in calculating the anharmonic IFCs, can be directly determined to get satisfactory results. Moreover, we find a simple way to largely (~10 times) accelerate the computations by fast reconstructing the anharmonic IFCs in the convergence test of κ with respect to the rcutof, which finally confirms the chosen rcutoff is appropriate. Two-dimensional graphene and phosphorene along with bulk SnSe are presented to validate our approach, and the long-debate divergence problem of thermal conductivity in low-dimensional systems is studied. The quantitative strategy proposed herein can be a good candidate for fast evaluating the reliable κ and thus provides useful tool for high-throughput materials screening and design with targeted thermal transport properties.