Cost effectiveness of treating multi-drug resistant tuberculosis by adding Deltyba™ to background regimens in Germany

SummaryObjectiveTo assess the cost-effectiveness of adding delamanid (Deltyba™) to a background regimen (BR) for treating multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in Germany.MethodsThe incremental cost-effectiveness of treating a cohort of MDR-TB patients, 38-years old on average, with Deltyba™ plus BR versus a five drug- BR regimen alone was compared in a Markov model over a period of 10 years. Cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) and disability-adjusted life years (DALY) were determined from a societal perspective. Recent data from a German cost calculation on MDR-TB were applied to the 24-month outcome results of patients participating in the placebo-controlled, phase II Otsuka's Trial 204. Costs and effectiveness were discounted at a rate of 3% and subjected to deterministic as well as probabilistic sensitivity analysis in a Monte Carlo simulation.ResultsBased on the current market prices the total discounted cost per patient on BR plus Deltyba™ was €142,732 compared to €150,909 for BR alone. The total discounted QALYs per patient were 8.47 for Deltyba™ versus 6.13 for BR alone. Accordingly, the addition of Deltyba™ proved to be dominant over the BR alone-strategy by simultaneously saving €8177 and gaining 2.34 QALYs. Deltyba™ was cost saving in 73% of probabilistic sensitivity analyses compared to BR alone and 100% cost effective at a willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of €10,000.ConclusionsUnder conditions prevalent in Germany, Deltyba™ added to a five drug BR regimen is likely to be cost-saving compared to BR alone under a wide range of assumptions. Adding delamanid remained cost-effective when costs due to loss of productivity were excluded as the QALYs gained by lower lethality and a higher proportion of successfully treated patients outweighed the delamanid drug costs. These results strongly support the application of Deltyba™ in treating MDR-TB patients

The epidemiological impact of childhood influenza vaccination using live-attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) in Germany: predictions of a simulation study

Rose MA, Damm O, Greiner W, et al. The epidemiological impact of childhood influenza vaccination using live-attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) in Germany: predictions of a simulation study. BMC Infectious Diseases. 2014;14(1): 40.Background Routine annual influenza vaccination is primarily recommended for all persons aged 60 and above and for people with underlying chronic conditions in Germany. Other countries have already adopted additional childhood influenza immunisation programmes. The objective of this study is to determine the potential epidemiological impact of implementing paediatric influenza vaccination using intranasally administered live-attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) in Germany. Methods A deterministic age-structured model is used to simulate the population-level impact of different vaccination strategies on the transmission dynamics of seasonal influenza in Germany. In our base-case analysis, we estimate the effects of adding a LAIV-based immunisation programme targeting children 2 to 17 years of age to the existing influenza vaccination policy. The data used in the model is based on published evidence complemented by expert opinion. Results In our model, additional vaccination of children 2 to 17 years of age with LAIV leads to the prevention of 23.9 million influenza infections and nearly 16 million symptomatic influenza cases within 10 years. This reduction in burden of disease is not restricted to children. About one third of all adult cases can indirectly be prevented by LAIV immunisation of children. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that vaccinating children 2–17 years of age is likely associated with a significant reduction in the burden of paediatric influenza. Furthermore, annual routine childhood vaccination against seasonal influenza is expected to decrease the incidence of influenza among adults and older people due to indirect effects of herd protection. In summary, our model provides data supporting the introduction of a paediatric influenza immunisation programme in Germany

Incidental chest radiographic findings in adult patients with acute cough

PURPOSE Imaging may produce unexpected or incidental findings with consequences for patients and ordering of future investigations. Chest radiography in patients with acute cough is among the most common reasons for imaging in primary care, but data on associated incidental findings are lacking. We set out to describe the type and prevalence of incidental chest radiography findings in primary care patients with acute cough. METHODS We report on data from a cross-sectional study in 16 European primary care networks on 3,105 patients with acute cough, all of whom were undergoing chest radiography as part of a research study workup. Apart from assessment for specified signs of pneumonia and acute bronchitis, local radiologists were asked to evaluate any additional finding on the radiographs. For the 2,823 participants with good-quality chest radiographs, these findings were categorized according to clinical relevance based on previous research evidence and analyzed for type and prevalence by network, sex, age, and smoking status. RESULTS Incidental findings were reported in 19% of all participants, and ranged from 0% to 25% by primary care network, with the network being an independent contributor (P < .001). Of all participants 3% had clinically relevant incidental findings. Suspected nodules and shadows were reported in 1.8%. Incidental findings were more common is older participants and smokers (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS Clinically relevant incidental findings on chest radiographs in primary care adult patients with acute cough are uncommon, and prevalence varies by setting

Risk Assessment for Patients with Chronic Respiratory Conditions in the Context of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic Statement of the German Respiratory Society with the Support of the German Association of Chest Physicians

Assessing the risk for specific patient groups to suffer from severe courses of COVID-19 is of major importance in the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. This review focusses on the risk for specific patient groups with chronic respiratory conditions, such as patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis (CF), sarcoidosis, interstitial lung diseases, lung cancer, sleep apnea, tuberculosis, neuromuscular diseases, a history of pulmonary embolism, and patients with lung transplants. Evidence and recommendations are detailed in exemplary cases. While some patient groups with chronic respiratory conditions have an increased risk for severe courses of COVID-19, an increasing number of studies confirm that asthma is not a risk factor for severe COVID-19. However, other risk factors such as higher age, obesity, male gender, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney or liver disease, cerebrovascular and neurological disease, and various immunodeficiencies or treatments with immunosuppressants need to be taken into account when assessing the risk for severe COVID-19 in patients with chronic respiratory diseases

Microbiological testing of adults hospitalised with community-acquired pneumonia: An international study

This study aimed to describe real-life microbiological testing of adults hospitalised with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and to assess concordance with the 2007 Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)/American Thoracic Society (ATS) and 2011 European Respiratory Society (ERS) CAP guidelines. This was a cohort study based on the Global Initiative for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Pneumonia (GLIMP) database, which contains point-prevalence data on adults hospitalised with CAP across 54 countries during 2015. In total, 3702 patients were included. Testing was performed in 3217 patients, and included blood culture (71.1%), sputum culture (61.8%), Legionella urinary antigen test (30.1%), pneumococcal urinary antigen test (30.0%), viral testing (14.9%), acute-phase serology (8.8%), bronchoalveolar lavage culture (8.4%) and pleural fluid culture (3.2%). A pathogen was detected in 1173 (36.5%) patients. Testing attitudes varied significantly according to geography and disease severity. Testing was concordant with IDSA/ATS and ERS guidelines in 16.7% and 23.9% of patients, respectively. IDSA/ATS concordance was higher in Europe than in North America (21.5% versus 9.8%; p&lt;0.01), while ERS concordance was higher in North America than in Europe (33.5% versus 19.5%; p&lt;0.01). Testing practices of adults hospitalised with CAP varied significantly by geography and disease severity. There was a wide discordance between real-life testing practices and IDSA/ATS/ERS guideline recommendations

Antivirale Arzneimittel bei saisonaler und pandemischer Influenza

Hintergrund: Für die Prophylaxe und Therapie der Influenza sind in Deutschland Amantadin, Oseltamivir und Zanamivir verfügbar. Dieser Beitrag gibt eine Übersicht über deren Wirksamkeit und Verträglichkeit. Methode: Diese Übersicht basiert auf einer systematischen Literatursuche zu randomisierten kontrollierten Studien (RCTs) und systematischen Reviews, unter Berücksichtigung weiterer Literatur. Ergebnisse: Die Wirksamkeit der antiviralen Arzneimittel zur Prophylaxe symptomatischer Influenzaerkrankungen betrug in Abhängigkeit von Population und Art der Prophylaxe 60–90 % („number needed to treat“ [NNT]: 8–89). Antivirale Arzneimittel verkürzten die Krankheitsdauer um 0,5–1,5 Tage, wenn sie innerhalb von 48 Stunden nach Symptombeginn angewendet wurden. Bronchitiden bei Erwachsenen und Otitis media bei Kindern traten unter Neuraminidasehemmern nicht signifikant seltener auf. Bei angegebenen, aber diagnostisch oftmals nicht gesicherten Pneumonien zeigten sich bei Erwachsenen positive Effekte (NNT: 89 [50–232]). In die RCTs wurden nur leicht bis moderat erkrankte Patienten eingeschlossen. Sie ließen keinen Einfluss auf schwere Erkrankungsverläufe oder Letalität erkennen, positive Hinweise liegen aber aus Beobachtungsstudien vor. Die häufigsten Nebenwirkungen von Oseltamivir (> 10 %) waren Kopfschmerzen, Übelkeit und Erbrechen, von Zanamivir (> 1 %) Hautausschlag und von Amantadin (> 1 %) Appetitlosigkeit, Übelkeit und zentralnervöse Effekte. Schlussfolgerung: Das Nutzen-Risiko-Verhältnis der antiviralen Arzneimittel, insbesondere der Neuraminidasehemmer, wird als positiv bewertet. Die Indikationsstellung sollte unter Abwägung der Eigenschaften der zirkulierenden Viren sowie der individuellen Risikokonstellation des Patienten gemäß klinischer Therapieempfehlungen gestellt werden