Clinical drug investigation
-
Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Comparative effectiveness of long-acting risperidone in New Zealand: a report of resource utilization and costs in a 12-month mirror-image analysis.
Schizophrenia affects approximately 1% of the population and is associated with a considerable economic burden to society. The healthcare costs of the disorder are high and are compounded by substantial productivity losses. Failure to adhere to medication regimens, with subsequent relapse and hospitalization, is a key driver of these costs. A long-acting injectable formulation of the second generation antipsychotic risperidone (risperidone long-acting injection [risperidone LAI]) was licensed in New Zealand and received full government funding in October 2005. Second generation antipsychotics may have some efficacy advantages, be associated with fewer adverse effects and could improve adherence. However, the acquisition cost of risperidone LAI is higher than that of first generation antipsychotics and healthcare decision makers need information that allows them to determine whether risperidone LAI represents a cost-effective investment in terms of improved outcomes. ⋯ This study suggests that patients have reduced hospital admissions but longer bed-stay after starting risperidone LAI. Longer admissions were driven by those that discontinued treatment and continuation was associated with improved resource and cost outcomes compared with those who discontinued. These findings have potential implications for payers, providers and patients that require further investigation over a longer time frame.
-
A non-oncology dose selection phase II trial tests multiple active doses in a controlled fashion, and it not only needs to determine whether the treatment is effective but also to select the 'lowest efficacious' dose if the treatment is indeed efficacious. Few approaches exist in the literature for designing phase II non-oncology dose selection trials, and the standard design with a fixed sample size has been widely used. The objective of this study was to develop a more efficient design for phase II dose selection trials that terminates the trial early for futility and adjusts the sample size and number of doses at interim analyses when appropriate. ⋯ Once a confident answer to either or both of these questions can be obtained, the trial may either be terminated early or some of the lower doses may be dropped to prevent assigning more patients to inferior doses and thus reduce the total sample size needed. Theoretical analyses and simulation studies show that the proposed adaptive design significantly outperforms the standard design with a fixed sample size. The proposed adaptive design should be preferred over the standard design especially in cases where enrolment is slow and efficacy can be measured after a relatively short period of time.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Efficacy and safety of Tapentadol extended release compared with oxycodone controlled release for the management of moderate to severe chronic pain related to osteoarthritis of the knee: a randomized, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled phase III study.
Tapentadol is a novel, centrally acting analgesic with mu-opioid receptor agonist and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor activity. ⋯ treatment with Tapentadol ER 100-250 mg twice daily or oxycodone HCl CR 20-50 mg twice daily was effective for the management of moderate to severe chronic osteoarthritis-related knee pain, with substantially lower incidences of gastrointestinal-related TEAEs associated with treatment with Tapentadol ER than with oxycodone CR.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Treatment comparison of budesonide/formoterol with salmeterol/fluticasone propionate in adults aged > or =16 years with asthma: post hoc analysis of a randomized, double-blind study.
Three fixed maintenance-dose inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting beta(2)-agonist (ICS/LABA) combinations for the treatment of asthma are currently available: salmeterol/fluticasone propionate (Seretide/Advair/Adoair) budesonide/formoterol (Symbicort) and beclometasone/formoterol (Foster). All of these combinations have proven efficacy in terms of controlling symptoms, improving lung function and reducing the rate of exacerbations compared with ICSs and LABAs administered separately. Budesonide/formoterol is also approved for use as maintenance and reliever therapy in a number of countries (Symbicort SMART). Many of the studies supporting the use of budesonide/formoterol combination therapies have included populations of adolescents and adults aged >11 years. ⋯ Budesonide/formoterol fixed maintenance dose or maintenance and reliever therapy provides similar improvements in current asthma control and reduces the future risk of hospitalizations/emergency-room treatments versus salmeterol/fluticasone propionate fixed maintenance-dose treatment, providing additional clinical benefit to asthma patients aged > or =16 years.
-
low back pain is one of the most common reasons for outpatient consultation in both the primary-care and specialized-care settings. However, few studies have explored the effect of pregabalin in this context. ⋯ compared with usual care, addition of pregabalin to existing therapy for refractory low back pain was associated with a larger reduction in pain severity and lost workday equivalents. The acquisition cost of pregabalin was offset by a higher reduction in the indirect components of cost, resulting in a significant decrease in total costs.