How do Clostridium difficile infections affect nurses' everyday hospital work: A qualitative study.

This qualitative study explored the impact of Clostridium difficile infections on nurses' everyday work in the hospital. Twelve nurses (six in France and six in the United States) were interviewed in depth using a semi-structured interview guide. Thematic analysis of the interviews was performed. Managing diarrhoea and taking precautionary measures for infection control were the two most inconvenient aspects nurses reported with C. difficile patient management. Precautions included contact isolation, hand hygiene and reorganization/coordination of nursing care and ward. Precautions were time consuming and significantly increased nurses' workload when combined with caring for patients with uncontrollable, frequent bouts of diarrhoea. Management of C. difficile infection is extremely burdensome for nurses in their everyday work and disruptive to hospital organizations as a whole. Prevention of C. difficile infections, together with coordinated team work and communication, would therefore contribute to decreasing nurses' workload and the burden to health-care facilities associated with caring for these patients.

Perception and acceptance of intradermal influenza vaccination: Patient reported outcomes from phase 3 clinical trials.

An intradermal trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine administered using a microinjection system has received European marketing authorization from the European Medicine Agency. We assessed clinical trial subjects' perception of injection site reactions (ISRs) and whether ISRs affected overall acceptability of vaccination and willingness to be vaccinated in the future. A validated, self-administered, patient reported outcome questionnaire was completed 21 days after intradermal or intramuscular vaccination by elderly and non-elderly adult participants in two European randomized, controlled, open-label phase 3 trials. The questionnaire addressed: the acceptability of ISRs, effect of ISRs on arm movement or sleep, satisfaction with the injection system, and willingness to be revaccinated. Questions were answered using a 5-point Likert verbal rating scale (1 = most favourable, 5 = most unfavourable response). Mean scores were calculated per group. 5,305 questionnaires were completed and analysed (95% return rate). Mean scores were close to 1 in all cases (maximum 1.68), indicating an overall favourable opinion of the vaccination and ISRs. More than 96% of participants rated ISRs after intradermal or intramuscular vaccination as either 'totally acceptable' or 'very acceptable'. Willingness to get vaccinated the following year and satisfaction with the intradermal microinjection system or the conventional intramuscular syringe were high and were not adversely affected by ISRs. ISRs after intradermal influenza vaccine administered using a microinjection system are well accepted by the vaccinees and are generally not a cause for concern.

Determinants of direct cost differences among US employees with major depressive disorders using antidepressants.

OBJECTIVE: To understand factors driving the economic burden of major depressive disorder (MDD) patients with different treatment regimens, by evaluating the relationship between medical profiles and treatment costs. METHODS: Claims data for US privately insured employees (1999-2004) were analysed. Analysis included adult employees with >/=1 diagnosis of MDD and >/=1 prescription for specific antidepressants following a 6-month washout period. Patients were first classified into treatment pattern groups (switchers/discontinuers/maintainers/augmenters), then stratified into mutually exclusive treatment groups - nonstable, stable and intermediate - based on evidence of stability in treatment therapy. Rates of mental and physical co-morbidities, injuries/accidents, substance abuse and urgent care use were analysed across treatment pattern groups. Direct (medical/drug) costs were calculated per patient per year and disaggregated into depression- and non-depression-related components. A two-part multivariate model controlled for baseline characteristics. Costs were also estimated for patients with MDD only, patients with MDD and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and patients with MDD and any type of anxiety. RESULTS: Annual per patient adjusted costs (year 2005 values) were significantly lower among stable patients ($US6215) than among intermediate ($US7317) and nonstable patients ($US9948; p < 0.001). Stable patients also had lower depression- and non-depression-related costs. Patients with MDD and comorbid GAD or any type of anxiety had significantly higher costs than MDD-only patients. CONCLUSIONS: Nonstability of treatment is associated with higher comorbidity rates, more urgent care use and higher total, depression- and non-depression-related direct costs. The stable group represents continuity of care and is associated with significant cost savings. Co-morbidities are associated with increased costs.

Financial cost of osteoarthritis in France. The "COART" France study.

OBJECTIVE: Osteoarthritis is the most common musculoskeletal disease, with about 9-10 million patients in France including 4.6 million with symptoms. The objective of the COART France study is to evaluate the cost of osteoarthritis in France from the societal point of view and to compare the results to those obtained in 1993 using the same methodology. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cost of osteoarthritis was evaluated using the macroeconomic approach. Direct costs were estimated from healthcare resource use (physician visits, drug prescriptions, and hospital admissions) and indirect costs from doctor-prescribed sick-leave durations. RESULTS: Direct costs of osteoarthritis in 2002 exceeded 1.6 billion Euros, contributing about 1.7% of expenses of the French health insurance system, which covers all residents of France regardless of employment or documentation status. Hospital admissions were the greatest single contributor to direct costs, with more than 800 million Euros. Osteoarthritis led to 13 million physician visits, during which 570 million Euros worth of medications were prescribed. The 156% increase in direct medical costs compared to 1993 was chiefly related to an increase in the number of patients (+54%); the cost increase per patient was only 2.5% per year. CONCLUSION: Despite the large increase in the number of treated patients and the development of new costly medications, the rise in the cost of managing osteoarthritis seems well contained. The aging of the population, development of new technologies, and increasing patient expectations will probably govern the future economic impact of osteoarthritis, which remains a major public health burden.

Patients' experience and perception of hospital-treated Clostridium difficile infections: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Clostridium difficile is the leading cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and an important source of nosocomial infection. Clinical manifestations can range from mild diarrhea to lethal pseudomembranous colitis. Little is known about the burden of C. difficile infections (CDI) in patients. OBJECTIVE: This qualitative study explored the impact of hospital-treated CDI on patients' lives from the first occurrence of CDI symptoms, through their hospital stay, and after discharge. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews with 12 US and 12 French patients who had experienced CDI were conducted using an interview guide that was developed on the basis of a thorough literature review. Transcripts from these interviews were analyzed to identify concepts related to the research question. FINDINGS: CDI affected numerous aspects of patients' lives. Patients reported that the continuous, watery, and uncontrollable diarrhea characteristic of CDI had the most impact on their daily lives. Diarrhea prevented them from participating in usual daily activities; this caused the collapse of their social lives. Patients felt humiliated and embarrassed. Patients' emotional distress worsened once hospitalized; they reported feelings of loneliness and worry when placed in isolation. From discharge to the time of the interview, patients reported both psychological and physical improvement. However, despite continuing improvement, most patients reported persistent worry and fear of recurrent episodes, and they were thus more careful about their diet and hygiene. CONCLUSION: As one patient in this study explained, CDI is "the worst of everything that I've had." The emotional distress and extreme physical exhaustion associated with CDI result in a traumatic and frightening experience for patients. This trauma persists after recovery and includes lingering fears of a recurrent episode.

Implementing an influenza vaccination programme for adults aged ≥65 years in Poland: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Influenza is a common respiratory disease occurring in seasonal patterns, and may lead to severe complications in frail populations such as the elderly. In Poland, influenza vaccination is recommended for people aged ≥65 years; however the vaccine coverage rate in the elderly is very low. The fact that influenza vaccine is neither reimbursed by the National Health Insurance (Narodowy Fundusz Zdrowia [NFZ]) nor financed via a National Immunization Program (NIP) could be a reason for the low coverage rate. This study assessed the cost effectiveness of the full reimbursement of an influenza vaccination programme in Poland for people aged ≥65 years. METHODS: A decision-analytic model was developed to compare costs and outcomes associated with the current situation in which influenza vaccination is not reimbursed and a new situation in which it would be fully covered by the NFZ. The model was parameterized to Poland using data from the literature and from the Central Statistic Office of Poland. Within the elderly population, 50% were considered to be at high risk of influenza complications. An influenza attack rate of 3.5% was used for calculation purposes. Influenza-associated hospitalizations and death rates were estimated at 439.9 per 100 000 person-years and 79.1 per 100 000 person-years, respectively. Cost estimates were derived from a cost study conducted in Poland. Costs are presented in Polish Zloty (PLN) [2009 mean exchange rate: 1 PLN = €0.232]. Only direct medical costs were included to fit to the NFZ perspective. To reflect the seasonality of influenza, a time horizon of 1 year was chosen. Life-years and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) accumulated over future years were discounted at a rate of 5% as recommended by Polish guidelines. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted. RESULTS: In Poland, the introduction of the public funding of influenza vaccination for people aged ≥65 years would cost PLN 79 million when an increase in coverage rate from 13.5% to 40% is assumed. 23 900 cases of influenza, 1777 hospitalizations and 548 premature deaths would be averted each year due to the influenza vaccination programme. Fifty-seven persons would need to be vaccinated to prevent one case of influenza. To prevent one hospitalization and one death due to influenza, 842 and 2809 individuals would need to be vaccinated, respectively. The new strategy would be very cost effective compared with the current situation with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of PLN26 118/QALY, which is below the 2009 yearly gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. Deterministic sensitivity analyses demonstrated that the most influential variables for the ICER were vaccine efficacy against death, excess hospitalization rate, utility norms, influenza attack rate, vaccine efficacy against hospitalization, and discount rates. All ICERs computed were below the threshold of 3 GDP per capita. From the probabilistic analysis, the proposed new influenza vaccination programme, if implemented, was predicted to be cost effective from the NFZ perspective with a probability of 100%, given the same threshold. CONCLUSION: Implementing a vaccination programme in Poland in which influenza vaccination would be fully reimbursed by the NFZ for people aged ≥65 years would be a very cost-effective strategy.

Public health and economic benefits of new pediatric influenza vaccination programs in Argentina.

BACKGROUND: Argentina's population was heavily affected by the 2009 influenza pandemic, particularly children, in whom incidence of seasonal influenza is consistently high. Following the pandemic, Argentinean national recommendations for pediatric vaccination against A/H1N1 influenza were defined for all children aged up to five years, in line with programs implemented by national authorities elsewhere. Economic evaluations have found that vaccination programs for this population against seasonal influenza are cost-effective, if not cost-saving in many countries. Recently, Argentina decided to routinely vaccinate against influenza children aged 6-23 mo-old. But, the economic value of such strategies for the country has never been assessed. METHODS: A model was developed to assess the value of four different vaccination strategies: (1) no pediatric vaccination; (2) vaccination of 6-23 mo-old children; (3) vaccination of 6-36 mo-old children; (4) vaccination of 6 mo-5 y-old children. We first estimated community health benefits of vaccination then we evaluated the economic and quality-of-life impact of these strategies on the population. Data used in the model come from surveillance networks, published literature, national databases and retrospective hospital-based data. RESULTS: Pediatric influenza vaccination benefited not only children but also the overall community, due to decreased disease transmission. Our results showed that the recent decision by Argentina to vaccinate 6-23 mo-old children is cost-effective as would be the incremental vaccination of broader age groups. CONCLUSIONS: Results from this study are consistent with previous analyses in other countries confirming that implementing influenza pediatric vaccination programs can be highly cost-effective through individual- and community protection against the disease.