Cost-effectiveness of CT perfusion for the detection of large vessel occlusion acute ischemic stroke followed by endovascular treatment:a model-based health economic evaluation study

Objectives:CT perfusion (CTP) has been suggested to increase the rate of large vessel occlusion (LVO) detection in patients suspected of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) if used in addition to a standard diagnostic imaging regime of CT angiography (CTA) and non-contrast CT (NCCT). The aim of this study was to estimate the costs and health effects of additional CTP for endovascular treatment (EVT)–eligible occlusion detection using model-based analyses. Methods: In this Dutch, nationwide retrospective cohort study with model-based health economic evaluation, data from 701 EVT-treated patients with available CTP results were included (January 2018–March 2022; trialregister.nl:NL7974). We compared a cohort undergoing NCCT, CTA, and CTP (NCCT + CTA + CTP) with a generated counterfactual where NCCT and CTA (NCCT + CTA) was used for LVO detection. The NCCT + CTA strategy was simulated using diagnostic accuracy values and EVT effects from the literature. A Markov model was used to simulate 10-year follow-up. We adopted a healthcare payer perspective for costs in euros and health gains in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs). The primary outcome was the net monetary benefit (NMB) at a willingness to pay of €80,000; secondary outcomes were the difference between LVO detection strategies in QALYs (ΔQALY) and costs (ΔCosts) per LVO patient. Results: We included 701 patients (median age: 72, IQR: [62–81]) years). Per LVO patient, CTP-based occlusion detection resulted in cost savings (ΔCosts median: € − 2671, IQR: [€ − 4721; € − 731]), a health gain (ΔQALY median: 0.073, IQR: [0.044; 0.104]), and a positive NMB (median: €8436, IQR: [5565; 11,876]) per LVO patient. Conclusion: CTP-based screening of suspected stroke patients for an endovascular treatment eligible large vessel occlusion was cost-effective. Clinical relevance statement.: Although CTP-based patient selection for endovascular treatment has been recently suggested to result in worse patient outcomes after ischemic stroke, an alternative CTP-based screening for endovascular treatable occlusions is cost-effective. Key Points: • Using CT perfusion to detect an endovascular treatment-eligible occlusions resulted in a health gain and cost savings during 10 years of follow-up. • Depending on the screening costs related to the number of patients needed to image with CT perfusion, cost savings could be considerable (median: € − 3857, IQR: [€ − 5907; € − 1916] per patient). • As the gain in quality adjusted life years was most affected by the sensitivity of CT perfusion-based occlusion detection, additional studies for the diagnostic accuracy of CT perfusion for occlusion detection are required.</p

Experience with the GIS Mobility Project at KOGEKA: An Example of Co-operation between Primary and Secondary Schools on School Mobility and Traffic Safety. GI_Forum 2013 – Creating the GISociety|

The opportunities for using GIS in schools are numerous. KOGEKA, a community of six secondary schools in Belgium, has been working with GIS for about 10 years now and is running a GIS Mobility project in some of their schools. In this project the secondary school pupils work together with pupils from primary schools in the neighbourhood, on school mobility and traffic safety. This paper reports about KOGEKA’s experiences with the GIS mobility project and describes (i) the added value that the use of GIS can offer in a project like this, (ii) how GIS can support the development of spatial thinking in pupils, (iii) what potential this kind of projects can have to contribute to achieve learning objectives described in curricula and (iv) how the project encourages pupils take up their role as active citizens. We conclude with some general thoughts to consider for schools that think of running similar projects

Experience with the GIS Mobility Project at KOGEKA: An Example of Co-operation between Primary and Secondary Schools on School Mobility and Traffic Safety. GI_Forum 2013 – Creating the GISociety|

The opportunities for using GIS in schools are numerous. KOGEKA, a community of six secondary schools in Belgium, has been working with GIS for about 10 years now and is running a GIS Mobility project in some of their schools. In this project the secondary school pupils work together with pupils from primary schools in the neighbourhood, on school mobility and traffic safety. This paper reports about KOGEKA’s experiences with the GIS mobility project and describes (i) the added value that the use of GIS can offer in a project like this, (ii) how GIS can support the development of spatial thinking in pupils, (iii) what potential this kind of projects can have to contribute to achieve learning objectives described in curricula and (iv) how the project encourages pupils take up their role as active citizens. We conclude with some general thoughts to consider for schools that think of running similar projects