The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care
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Comparative Study
SF-6D versus EQ-5D: reasons for differences in utility scores and impact on reported cost-utility.
The choice of instrument (e.g. EQ-5D vs. SF-6D) can lead to different health-related utility scores, but it is unclear why these differences arise and whether they change cost utility analysis (CUA) results. ⋯ The paper examines reasons for this difference. This paper finds that an important factor was the inclusion in the SF-6D descriptive system of separate items for "vitality" and "social functioning", not explicitly included in EQ-5D. Further studies are required that examine the impact of the choice of instrument on cost-utility.
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Comparative Study
Cost-effectiveness of linezolid versus vancomycin for hospitalised patients with complicated skin and soft-tissue infections in Germany.
This study used a decision analytic model approach to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of linezolid versus vancomycin in the empirical treatment of complicated skin and soft-tissue infection (cSSTI) due to suspected methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from the German hospital and health care system perspective. Clinical probabilities were obtained from trial data, resource utilisation and MRSA prevalence rates were obtained through German physician interviews, and costs from published sources were applied to resource units. Outcomes included total cost/patient and cure. ⋯ Average total cost/episode was 8,232 euro for linezolid versus 9,206 euro for vancomycin. The model outcomes were sensitive to changes in length of stay (LOS), isolation days, rate of confirmed MRSA and price of linezolid. Linezolid was expected to result in a shorter intravenous treatment duration and shorter LOS that offset its higher acquisition cost versus vancomycin in cSSTI in Germany.