Cost-effectiveness of alternative colonoscopy surveillance strategies to mitigate metachronous colorectal cancer incidence.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of metachronous colorectal cancer (MCRC) among colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors varies significantly, and the optimal colonoscopy surveillance practice for mitigating MCRC incidence is unknown. METHODS: A cost-effectiveness analysis was used to compare the performances of the US Multi-Society Task Force guideline and all clinically reasonable colonoscopy surveillance strategies for 50- to 79-year-old posttreatment CRC patients with a computer simulation model. RESULTS: The US guideline [(1,3,5)] recommends the first colonoscopy 1 year after treatment, whereas the second and third colonoscopies are to be repeated at 3- and 5-year intervals. Some promising alternative cost-effective strategies were identified. In comparison with the US guideline, under various scenarios for a 20-year period, 1) reducing the surveillance interval of the guideline after the first colonoscopy by 1 year [(1,2,5)] would save up to 78 discounted life-years (LYs) and prevent 23 MCRCs per 1000 patients (incremental cost-effectiveness ratio [ICER] ≤ $23,270/LY), 2) reducing the intervals after the first and second negative colonoscopies by 1 year [(1,2,4)] would save/prevent up to 109 discounted LYs and 36 MCRCs (ICER ≤ $52,155/LY), and 3) reducing the surveillance intervals after the first and second negative colonoscopy by 1 and 2 years [(1,2,3)] would save/prevent up to 141 discounted LYs and 50 MCRCs (ICER ≤ $63,822/LY). These strategies would require up to 1100 additional colonoscopies per 1000 patients. Although the US guideline might not be cost-effective in comparison with a less intensive oncology guideline [(3,3,5); the ICER could be as high as $140,000/LY], the promising strategies would be cost-effective in comparison with such less intensive guidelines unless the cumulative MCRC incidence were very low. CONCLUSIONS: The US guideline might be improved by a slight increase in the surveillance intensity at the expense of moderately increased cost. More research is warranted to explore the benefits/harms of such practices. Cancer 2016;122:2560-70. © 2016 American Cancer Society.

Effectiveness of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus surveillance among exposed roommates in community hospitals: Conventional culture vs direct PCR.

BACKGROUND: Roommates of unrecognized nosocomial Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) cases are at higher acquisition risk; however, optimal surveillance strategies are unknown. METHODS: Using simulation, we analyzed surveillance testing and isolation strategies for MRSA among exposed hospital roommates. We compared isolating exposed roommates until conventional culture testing on day six (Cult6) and a nasal polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on day three (PCR3) with/without day zero culture testing (Cult0). The model represents MRSA transmission in medium-sized hospitals using data and recommended best practices from the literature and Ontario community hospitals. RESULTS: Cult0+PCR3 incurred a slightly lower number of MRSA colonizations and 38.9% lower annual cost in the base case compared to Cult0+Cult6 because the reduced isolation cost compensated for the increased testing cost. The reduction in MRSA colonizations was due to 54.5% drop in MRSA transmissions during isolation as PCR3 reduced exposure of MRSA-free roommates to new MRSA carriers. Removing the day zero culture test from Cult0+PCR3 increased total cost, the number of MRSA colonization, and missed cases by $1,631, 4.3%, and 50.9%, respectively. Improvements were higher under aggressive MRSA transmission scenarios. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Adopting direct nasal PCR testing for determining post-exposure MRSA status reduces transmission risk and costs. Day zero culture would still be beneficial.

Estimating the unknown parameters of the natural history of metachronous colorectal cancer using discrete-event simulation.

OBJECTIVES: Some aspects of the natural history of metachronous colorectal cancer (MCRC), such as the rate of progression from adenomatous polyp to MCRC, are unknown. The objective of this study is to estimate a set of parameters revealing some of these unknown characteristics of MCRC. METHODS: The authors developed a computer simulation model that mimics the progression of MCRC for a 5-year period following the treatment of primary colorectal cancer (CRC). They obtained the inputs of the simulation model using longitudinal data for 284 CRC patients from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester. RESULTS: Five-year MCRC incidence and all-cause mortality were 7.4% and 12.7% in the patient cohort, respectively. Statistical analysis showed that 5-year MCRC incidence was associated with gender (P = 0.05), whereas both all-cause and CRC-related mortalities were associated with age (P < 0.001 and P = 0.01). Estimated annual probabilities of progression from adenomatous polyp to MCRC and from MCRC to metastatic MCRC were 0.14 and 0.28, respectively. Annual probabilities of mortality after MCRC and metastatic MCRC treatments were estimated to be 0.06 and 0.26, respectively. The estimated annual probability of mortality due to undetected MCRC was 0.16. CONCLUSIONS: The results imply that MCRC, especially in women, may be more common than suggested by previous studies. In addition, statistics derived from the clinical data and results of the simulation model indicate that gender and age affect the progression of MCRC.