Health technology assessment : HTA
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Health Technol Assess · Aug 2017
ReviewManaging Faecal INcontinence in people with advanced dementia resident in Care Homes (FINCH) study: a realist synthesis of the evidence.
Eighty per cent of care home residents in the UK are living with dementia. The prevalence of faecal incontinence (FI) in care homes is estimated to range from 30% to 50%. There is limited evidence of what is effective in the reduction and management of FI in care homes. ⋯ The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme.
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Health Technol Assess · Aug 2017
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyCost and Outcome of BehaviouRal Activation (COBRA): a randomised controlled trial of behavioural activation versus cognitive-behavioural therapy for depression.
Depression is a common, debilitating and costly disorder. The best-evidenced psychological therapy - cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) - is complex and costly. A simpler therapy, behavioural activation (BA), may be an effective alternative. ⋯ Settings and countries with a paucity of professionally qualified psychological therapists, might choose to investigate the delivery of effective psychological therapy for depression without the need to develop an extensive and costly professional infrastructure.
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Health Technol Assess · Aug 2017
Randomized Controlled TrialDeveloping a multidisciplinary rehabilitation package following hip fracture and testing in a randomised feasibility study: Fracture in the Elderly Multidisciplinary Rehabilitation (FEMuR).
Proximal femoral fracture is a major health problem in old age, with annual UK health and social care costs of £2.3B. Rehabilitation has the potential to maximise functional recovery and maintain independent living, but evidence of clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness is lacking. ⋯ Trial methods were feasible in terms of eligibility, recruitment and retention, although recruitment was challenging. The NEADL scale was more responsive than the BADL index, suggesting that the intervention could enable participants to regain better levels of independence compared with usual care. This should be tested in a definitive Phase III RCT. There were two main limitations of the study: the feasibility study lacked power to test for differences between the groups and a ceiling effect was observed in the primary measure.
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Health Technol Assess · Aug 2017
Randomized Controlled TrialPilot of a randomised controlled trial of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor sertraline versus cognitive behavioural therapy for anxiety symptoms in people with generalised anxiety disorder who have failed to respond to low-intensity psychological treatments as defined by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) is common, causing unpleasant symptoms and impaired functioning. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines have established good evidence for low-intensity psychological interventions, but a significant number of patients will not respond and require more intensive step 3 interventions, recommended as either high-intensity cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or a pharmacological treatment such as sertraline. However, there are no head-to-head comparisons evaluating which is more clinically effective and cost-effective, and current guidelines suggest that treatment choice at step 3 is based mainly on patient preference. ⋯ It may be easier to answer this important question by recruiting people from primary care rather than from those already engaged in a psychological treatment service.
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Health Technol Assess · Aug 2017
Effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of serum B-type natriuretic peptide testing and monitoring in patients with heart failure in primary and secondary care: an evidence synthesis, cohort study and cost-effectiveness model.
Heart failure (HF) affects around 500,000 people in the UK. HF medications are frequently underprescribed and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP)-guided therapy may help to optimise treatment. ⋯ Identify an optimal BNP-monitoring strategy and how to optimise HF management in accordance with guidelines; update the IPD meta-analysis to include the Guiding Evidence Based Therapy Using Biomarker Intensified Treatment (GUIDE-IT) RCT; collect routine long-term outcome data for completed and ongoing RCTs.