Algorithm for the management of patients at low, high and very high risk of osteoporotic fractures.

Guidance is provided in an international setting on the assessment and specific treatment of postmenopausal women at low, high and very high risk of fragility fractures. INTRODUCTION: The International Osteoporosis Foundation and European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis published guidance for the diagnosis and management of osteoporosis in 2019. This manuscript seeks to apply this in an international setting, taking additional account of further categorisation of increased risk of fracture, which may inform choice of therapeutic approach. METHODS: Clinical perspective and updated literature search. RESULTS: The following areas are reviewed: categorisation of fracture risk and general pharmacological management of osteoporosis. CONCLUSIONS: A platform is provided on which specific guidelines can be developed for national use to characterise fracture risk and direct interventions.

Correction to: Algorithm for the management of patients at low, high and very high risk of osteoporotic fractures.

The article 'Algorithm for the management of patients at low, high and very high risk of osteoporotic fractures',written by J. A. Kanis, was originally published Online First without Open Access. After publication in volume [#], issue [#] and page [#-#], the author decided to opt for Open Choice and to make the article an Open Access publication.

Recommendations for the conduct of economic evaluations in osteoporosis: outcomes of an experts' consensus meeting organized by the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases (ESCEO) and the US branch of the International Osteoporosis Foundation.

Economic evaluations are increasingly used to assess the value of health interventions, but variable quality and heterogeneity limit the use of these evaluations by decision-makers. These recommendations provide guidance for the design, conduct, and reporting of economic evaluations in osteoporosis to improve their transparency, comparability, and methodologic standards. INTRODUCTION: This paper aims to provide recommendations for the conduct of economic evaluations in osteoporosis in order to improve their transparency, comparability, and methodologic standards. METHODS: A working group was convened by the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis to make recommendations for the design, conduct, and reporting of economic evaluations in osteoporosis, to define an osteoporosis-specific reference case to serve a minimum standard for all economic analyses in osteoporosis, to discuss methodologic challenges and initiate a call for research. A literature review, a face-to-face meeting in New York City (including 11 experts), and a review/approval by a larger group of experts worldwide (including 23 experts in total) were conducted. RESULTS: Recommendations on the type of economic evaluation, methods for economic evaluation, modeling aspects, base-case analysis and population, excess mortality, fracture costs and disutility, treatment characteristics, and model validation were provided. Recommendations for reporting economic evaluations in osteoporosis were also made and an osteoporosis-specific checklist was designed that includes items to report when performing an economic evaluation in osteoporosis. Further, 12 minimum criteria for economic evaluations in osteoporosis were identified and 12 methodologic challenges and need for further research were discussed. CONCLUSION: While the working group acknowledges challenges and the need for further research, these recommendations are intended to supplement general and national guidelines for economic evaluations, improve transparency, quality, and comparability of economic evaluations in osteoporosis, and maintain methodologic standards to increase their use by decision-makers.

Diabetes in the 1990s--an overview.

Diabetes affects more than 16 million persons in the United States and touches all ages races and both genders. As a rule the younger population (usually under age 30) has insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM, sometimes referred to as Type I diabetes) while the older population is affected by non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM, or Type II). Diabetes mellitus has been increasing fairly steadily over the years, and in 1994 the number of diabetes deaths was 5 percent higher than in 1993. In the United States minority groups particularly Native Americans are more frequently affected by NIDDM than non-Hispanic whites. Uncontrolled diabetes often leads to long-term complications which account for an increase in health care costs. In 1992 diabetes and its long-term complications cost $92 billion approximately 15 percent of the total U.S. health care costs. This cost is expected to continue rising as the number of diabetics increases. Over the past five to seven years the disease has become more manageable with the development of new options medications and simple accurate diagnostic kits for patients home use. Research is leading to better preventive and management techniques which increase the need not only for general public health but also for individual patient education. Effective preventive measures as well as symptom identification and awareness can result in far better control of complications.