The role of accessibility policies and other determinants of health care provision in the initial prognosis of malignant melanoma: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The prognostic benefit of health care service provision and delivery policies for patients with malignant melanoma (MM) is not yet clear. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the role of health care provision determinants in the initial prognosis of MM. METHODS: A multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted at 14 public hospitals and recruited 3550 patients with MM between 2000 and 2009. The study variables were analyzed using univariate and multivariate models to identify their role in the variations observed. RESULTS: In a 10-year period, the number of patients with MM increased by 78.54%, with primary in situ MM (Tis) or MMs with a Breslow thickness <1 mm (T1) representing 51.72% of the total number of MMs in 2000, increasing to 62.23% by the end of the study period (P = .005). Among the variables that explained the variation in MM frequency the year of diagnosis after 2004 (univariate odds ratio [OR], 1.43 [P < .001]; multivariate OR, 1.36 [P = .005]) and diagnosis in centers with specific fast-track referral systems (univariate OR, 1.24 [P = .01]; multivariate OR, 1.59 [P = .025]) were shown to explain the increasing frequency of Tis-T1 MM. LIMITATIONS: The primary potential limitation of this study is its retrospective nature. CONCLUSION: Health care provision policies and interventions aimed at improving accessibility to specialized care appear to explain the increasing frequency of Tis-T1 MM.

Long-Term Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Etanercept and Adalimumab for Plaque Psoriasis not Associated with Arthritis.

INTRODUCTION: Pharmacoeconomic studies examining the cost-effectiveness of biological agents to treat moderate-to-severe psoriasis in real-life clinical practice are scarce. The aim of this study was to assess the efficiency, in terms of incremental cost-effectiveness, of etanercept and adalimumab in a real clinical setting. METHODS: Direct and indirect costs were assessed from a Spanish societal perspective in a historical hospital cohort of patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis attending a tertiary referral hospital over a 1-year period. The data examined included drug-related variables, use of health-care resources, transportation and work productivity losses. Effectiveness was measured as the proportion of patients achieving a reduction of at least 75% with respect to the baseline value for the Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI 75) during the first 52 weeks of treatment. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences in effectiveness between etanercept (n = 135) and adalimumab (n = 48) were found (PASI 75 80% vs. 85.7%; RR = 1.07 [0.90, 1.27]; RRA = 5.7 [-8.9, 20.2]; p = 0.943). There were no significant differences in total cost per patient with etanercept as compared to adalimumab (14,843.73 ± 6,178.98  vs. 15,405.91 ± 9,106.50 ; p = 0.768). CONCLUSION: Under conditions of daily clinical practice in our hospital, total health-care costs associated with the treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis with etanercept appear to be equivalent to those with adalimumab in the first year of treatment.

Economic evaluation of botulinum toxin versus thoracic sympathectomy for palmar hyperhidrosis: data from a real-world scenario.

INTRODUCTION: Local botulinum toxin injections and endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy (ETS) have shown clinical effectiveness for the treatment of palmar hyperhidrosis in several studies. Although both strategies cause considerable costs for health-care systems, at the moment there are no studies examining directly their cost-effectiveness performance. The aim of the study was to assess the incremental cost-effectiveness of botulinum toxin when compared with ETS for palmar hyperhidrosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Costs, effectiveness, and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) were calculated. Costs were assessed from a Spanish National Health System perspective in a historical cohort of patients with palmar hyperhidrosis attending a tertiary referral hospital. Effectiveness was evaluated by using the Hyperhidrosis Disease Severity Scale (HDSS). A responder was defined as a patient who reported at least a two-grade improvement on the HDSS scale with respect to the baseline value. The horizon of time was 1 year. RESULTS: Effectiveness was greater for ETS (n = 128) when compared with botulinum toxin (n = 100) for the treatment of palmar hyperhidrosis (92% vs. 68%; odds ratio (OR) = 6.22 [2.80, 13.80]; absolute risk ratio (ARR) = -0.24 [-0.45, -0.14]; number-needed-to-treat (NNT) = -4 [-2, -11]). Botulinum toxin had an ICER of 125 € when compared with ETS during the first year of treatment. CONCLUSIONS: In this retrospective real-world observational sample of patients with palmar hyperhidrosis, treatment with ETS appears to be more effective and less costly when compared with botulinum toxin during the first year of treatment. Analyses such as this give decision makers the tools to choose a better treatment option which is both highly effective and yet has a low cost.

Tratamiento de las úlceras crónicas / Treatment of chronic ulcers

Las úlceras crónicas suponen un reto en la terapia dermatológica. Lo esencial en su tratamiento es establecer su etiología, pero en muchas ocasiones la terapia local es muy beneficiosa. El tratamiento de las úlceras crónicas se basa actualmente en la llamada cura húmeda y contempla un doble aspecto: el de la enfermedad de base y el tratamiento local. El tratamiento local es siempre necesario e incluye: limpieza, desbridamiento, control de la infección, si existe, y la aplicación de diversos agentes tópicos, tanto desde el punto de vista de la medicación como del uso de apósitos. Recientemente se establecen nuevas estrategias terapéuticas, algunas en vías de valoración, que incluyen: reemplazamiento de piel a través de sustitutos biológicos de la misma, factores de crecimiento, láser, oxígeno hiperbárico, estimulación eléctrica o curas con sistema de presión negativa. En el presente trabajo se revisan los avances terapéuticos de esta enfermedad, sin olvidar la validez de terapias clásicas

Chronic ulcers are a challenge in dermatological therapy. It is essential to establish their etiology in order to treat them, but on many occasions local therapy is of great interest. Treatment of chronic ulcers is currently based on so-called moist wound healing, and it takes two aspects into consideration: the underlying pathology and local treatment. Local treatment is always necessary and includes: cleaning, debridement, the control of any infection, and the application of different topical agents, both medication and dressings. Recently, new therapeutic strategies are being established, some of which are still being assessed, and which include: skin replacement using biological skin substitutes, growth factors, laser, hyperbaric oxygen, electrical stimulation and negative pressure dressings. In this work, we review the therapeutic advances in this pathology, without neglecting the validity of classic treatments

[Treatment of chronic ulcers]. / Tratamiento de las úlceras crónicas.

Chronic ulcers are a challenge in dermatological therapy. It is essential to establish their etiology in order to treat them, but on many occasions local therapy is of great interest. Treatment of chronic ulcers is currently based on so-called moist wound healing, and it takes two aspects into consideration: the underlying pathology and local treatment. Local treatment is always necessary and includes: cleaning, debridement, the control of any infection, and the application of different topical agents, both medication and dressings. Recently, new therapeutic strategies are being established, some of which are still being assessed, and which include: skin replacement using biological skin substitutes, growth factors, laser, hyperbaric oxygen, electrical stimulation and negative pressure dressings. In this work, we review the therapeutic advances in this pathology, without neglecting the validity of classic treatments.