Analysis of epidemiological and economic data of hemophilia A patients in Brazil / Análise de dados epidemiológicos e econômicos de pacientes com hemofilia A no Brasil

Objective: To describe the annual medical direct costs per hemophilia A (HA) patient in the Brazilian public healthcare system (SUS) and to understand and describe the patients' hospital journey, demographical characteristics, and the procedures in the. Methods: This retrospective analysis of DataSUS databases. Data from individuals with registries of HA treatment were gathered between January 1st, 2018, and June 30th, 2021. Besides the D66 ICD-10th code (HA), were also considered the occurrence of some procedures like factor VIII dosage and by-pass therapy dispensation or administration as inclusion criteria. Exclusion criteria were occurrence of factor IX dispensation and female patients were excluded, among others. A record linkage using sociodemographic characteristics was conducted to identify unique patients. Results: Were identified 2,298 individuals underwent ambulatory and 1,018 underwent hospital treatments. The results show that most patients are from the Southeast region of the country, white and middle-aged individuals. The median cost of HA treatment per patient-year was BRL 90.36 for ambulatory care and BRL 1,015.31 for hospital care procedures. The costs were significantly higher for more severe patients and for those between 12 and 18 years old (BRL 1,974.75 and BRL 1,049.09, respectively). Conclusion: The evidence demonstrated encourages the implementation of policies aiming to improve the quality of care provided to patients with HA. Providing referral centers for hemophiliac patients is primordial for the success of the treatment and can result in efficiency.

Objetivo: Descrever os custos médicos diretos anuais por paciente com hemofilia A (HA) no sistema público de saúde brasileiro (SUS) e compreender e descrever a jornada do paciente em âmbito hospitalar, as características demográficas e os procedimentos realizados no SUS. Métodos: Análise retrospectiva das bases de dados do DataSUS. Foram coletados dados de indivíduos com registro de tratamento de HA entre 1º de janeiro de 2018 e 30 de junho de 2021. Além do código D66 CID-10 (HA), foi considerada a ocorrência de procedimentos como dosagem do fator VIII e dispensação ou administração de terapia de by-pass como critérios de inclusão. Dentre os critérios de exclusão, destacam-se a dispensação do fator IX e indivíduos do sexo feminino. Um pareamento de registros usando características sociodemográficas foi realizado para identificar pacientes únicos. Resultados: Foram identificados 2.298 indivíduos em tratamento ambulatorial e 1.018 em tratamento hospitalar. Os resultados mostraram que a maioria dos pacientes são da região Sudeste do país, brancos e de meia-idade. O custo médio do tratamento da HA por paciente-ano foi de R$ 90,36 para atendimento ambulatorial e de R$ 1.015,31 para atendimento hospitalar. Os custos foram significativamente maiores para pacientes mais graves e entre 12 e 18 anos (R$ 1.974,75 e R$ 1.049,09, respectivamente). Conclusão: As evidências demonstradas incentivam a implementação de políticas que visem melhorar a qualidade da assistência prestada aos pacientes com HA. A disponibilização de centros de referência para pacientes hemofílicos é primordial para o sucesso do tratamento e pode resultar em maior eficiência.

Statements about hemophilia A in Brazil: an expert Delphi panel / Consensos em hemofilia A no Brasil: painel Delphi de especialistas

Objective: Understanding unmet needs related to hemophilia A management in Brazil is critical for supporting decision-making. Methods: A modified Delphi consensus panel was conducted. Hematologists with extensive experience treating hemophilia in the Brazilian Public Health System were invited to answer questions regarding indicators of severe hemophilia prophylaxis effectiveness, emicizumab treatment indications, and bypassing agents used to reduce bleeding in patients with inhibitors, immune tolerance induction (ITI) use, and adherence. The consensus was defined as ≥75% of votes in Round 1 or using a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neither agree nor disagree, 4 = agree, and 5 = strongly agree) in Round 2, which included questions not reaching minimum cut-off in the first step. Results: Nine expert panelists with extensive experience in the Brazilian Public Health System participated. The panel reached an agreement on recommendations about prophylaxis, bleeding treatment patterns, and bleeding sites. From patients' perspectives, venous access and infusion frequency were the most significant barriers to improving patient treatment. According to most experts, emicizumab will not replace ITI or long-term factor VIII therapy. Still, emicizumab was thought to be a good therapeutic option for patients with difficult venous access, patients requiring central venous access, in the presence of inhibitors, or patients experiencing infusion-related pain. Conclusion: The information gleaned from this study may be helpful to both decision-makers and those in charge of developing healthcare economic models for the treatment of hemophilia A in Brazil.

Objetivo: É fundamental entender as necessidades não atendidas relacionadas ao manejo da hemofilia A no Brasil. Métodos: Foi conduzido um painel Delphi modificado. Foram convidados hematologistas com vasta experiência no tratamento de hemofilia no SUS para responder a perguntas sobre indicadores de eficácia da profilaxia, indicações de tratamento com emicizumabe, uso de agentes de bypass, uso de indução de tolerância imunológica (ITI) e adesão. O consenso foi definido como ≥75% dos votos na rodada 1 ou usando uma escala do tipo Likert de 5 pontos (1 = discordo totalmente, 2 = discordo, 3 = não concordo nem discordo, 4 = concordo e 5 = concordo totalmente) na segunda rodada, que incluiu questões que não atingiram o corte mínimo na primeira etapa. Resultados: Nove especialistas participaram e houve consenso sobre recomendações para profilaxia, padrões de tratamento de sangramento e locais de sangramento. O acesso venoso e a frequência da infusão foram identificados como as barreiras mais significativas para melhorar o tratamento do paciente. De acordo com a maioria, emicizumabe não substituirá a ITI ou tratamento com fator VIII de longo prazo. Emicizumabe foi considerado uma boa opção terapêutica para

Diagnostic parameters and reliability of four rapid immunochromatographic tests for dengue 4

ABSTRACT Background: Although performance of rapid immunochromatographic tests (RITs) for dengue virus (DENV) serotypes 1, 2 and 3 is relatively settled, evidence on accuracy of RITs for DENV-4 are based on studies with small sample sizes and with discrepant results. Objectives: To assess accuracy and inter-observer agreement of RITs targeting dengue nonstructural protein-1 (NS1) antigen - Dengue NS1-Bioeasy™, Dengue NS1 Ag Strip-Bio-Rad™, IVB Dengue Ag NS1-Orangelife™ and Dengue NS1-K130-Bioclin™ in DENV-4 samples. Methods: Study sample (n = 324) included adults presenting at an emergency unit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with fever of ≤72 h and two or more dengue symptoms. A serum sample from each patient was tested by each RIT. A positive reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction was considered as the reference standard for dengue diagnosis. The diagnostic parameters analyzed for each RIT were sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and likelihood ratios. Each RIT was read by homogeneous (two junior nurses) or heterogeneous (one junior nurse and one senior biologist) pairs. Agreement was estimated by simple kappa with 95% confidence interval, positive (Ppos) and negative (Pneg) proportion concordance and prevalence and bias adjusted kappa, rated from poor (k < 0.0) to almost perfect (0.8 < k < 1.0), and perfect (k = 1). Results: NS1 RITs for DENV-4 diagnosis showed high specificity (95.9%-99.4%), but low sensitivity (14.7%-45.4%). Bioeasy™ had the best performance, with a positive likelihood ratio of 26.0 (95% CI: 8.4;81.0). Inter-observer agreement was almost perfect for all evaluated RITs. Mismatches in confirmed dengue were more common for the Bioclin™ (Ppos 88.3-90.0 %) and Orangelife™ (Ppos 91.7-94.1 %) tests. Conclusions: For DENV-4, the tested RITs had high specificity, but lower sensitivity compared to published results for other serotypes. They should not be used for screening purposes. Different brands may have very different performances. This should be considered upon deciding of using RITs in DENV-4 outbreaks.

Rapid immunochromatographic tests for the diagnosis of dengue: a systematic review and meta-analysis / Testes imunocromatográficos rápidos para o diagnóstico da dengue: uma revisão sistemática e metanálise / Pruebas inmunocromatográficas rápidas para la diagnosis del dengue: una revisión sistemática y metaanálisis

Abstract: Dengue is an important arthropod-borne viral disease in terms of morbidity, mortality, economic impact and challenges in vector control. Benchmarks are expensive, time consuming and require trained personnel. Preventing dengue complications with rapid diagnosis has been based on the testing of easy-to-perform optimized immunochromatographic methods (ICT). This is a systematic meta-analysis review of the diagnostic accuracy of IgA, NS1, IgM and/or IgG ICT studies in suspected cases of acute or convalescent dengue, using a combination of RT-PCR, ELISA NS1, IgM IgG or viral isolation as a reference standard. This protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42014009885). Two pairs of reviewers searched the PubMed, BIREME, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science, Ovid MEDLINE JBrigs, SCIRUS and EMBASE databases, selected, extracted, and quality-assessed by QUADAS 2. Of 3,783 studies, we selected 57, of which 40 in meta-analyses according to the analyte tested, with high heterogeneity (I2 > 90%), as expected for diagnostic tests. We detected higher pooled sensitivity in acute phase IgA (92.8%) with excellent (90%) specificity. ICT meta-analysis with NS1/IgM/IgG showed 91% sensitivity and 96% specificity. Poorer screening performance was for IgM/IgG ICT (sensitivity = 56%). Thus, the studies with NS1/IgM/IgG ICT showed the best combined performance in the acute phase of the disease.

Resumo: A dengue é uma importante arbovirose em termos de morbidade, mortalidade, impacto econômico e controle do vetor. Os testes de referência são dispendiosos e demorados e exigem pessoal capacitado. A prevenção das complicações da dengue com o diagnóstico rápido tem tomado como base a testagem com métodos imunocromatográficos (ICT). O estudo é uma revisão sistemática e meta-análise da acurácia diagnóstica de estudos de ICT de IgA, NS1, IgM e/ou IgG em casos suspeitos de dengue aguda ou convalescente, usando uma combinação de RT-PCR, ELISA NS1, IgM IgG ou isolamento viral como padrão de referência. O projeto foi registrado na base PROSPERO (CRD42014009885). Dois pares de revisores realizaram as buscas nas bases de dados PubMed, BIREME, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science, Ovid MEDLINE JBrigs, SCIRUS e EMBASE, além da seleção, extração e avaliação de qualidade com a ferramenta QUADAS 2. A partir de 3.783 estudos, selecionamos 57, dos quais 40 foram incluídos nas meta-análises de acordo com o analito testado, com alta heterogeneidade (I2 > 90%), conforme esperado para testes diagnósticos. Foi detectada a maior sensibilidade conjunta no IgA de fase aguda (92,8%), com excelente especificidade (90%). A meta-análise de ICT com NS1/IgM/IgG mostrou sensibilidade de 91% e especificidade de 96%. O pior desempenho para triagem foi com o ICT de IgM/IgG (sensibilidade = 56%). Portanto, os estudos de ICT com NS1/IgM/IgG mostraram o melhor desempenho combinado na fase aguda da doença.

Resumen: El dengue es una importante enfermedad arboviral, en términos de morbilidad, mortalidad, impacto económico y desafíos en el control del vector. Las mejores prácticas son caras, consumen mucho tiempo y requieren personal formado. Prevenir las complicaciones del dengue con un rápido diagnóstico se ha basado en pruebas con métodos inmunocromatográficos optimizados fáciles de realizar (ICT por sus siglas en inglés). Se trata de una revisión sistemática de metaanálisis sobre la precisión diagnóstica de estudios de IgA, NS1, IgM y/o IgG ICT en casos sospechosos de fases agudas o convalecientes de dengue, usando la combinación de RT-PCR, ELISA NS1, IgM IgG o el aislamiento viral como referencia estándar. Este proyecto se registró en PROSPERO (CRD42014009885). Dos parejas de revisores investigaron en las bases de datos de: PubMed, BIREME, Science Direct, Scopus, Web of Science, Ovid MEDLINE JBrigs, SCIRUS y EMBASE, seleccionaron, extrajeron, y realizaron la evaluación de calidad mediante QUADAS 2. De 3.783 estudios, se seleccionaron 57, de los cuales 40 fueron metaanálisis, según el analito probado, con una alta heterogeneidad (I2 > 90%), como se esperaba en las pruebas de diagnóstico. Detectamos una sensibilidad más alta combinada en la fase aguda IgA (92.8%) con una excelente (90%) especificidad. Los metaanálisis ICT con NS1/IgM/ IgG mostraron un 91% de sensibilidad y un 96% de especificidad. Se produjo un rendimiento más pobre en el diagnóstico IgM/IgG ICT (sensibilidad = 56%). De este modo, los estudios con NS1/IgM/IgG ICT mostraron un rendimiento mejor combinado en la fase aguda de la enfermedad.