Health economics analysis has become increasingly important in recent years. It is essential to master the use of relevant software to conduct research in health economics. TreeAge Pro software is widely used in the healthcare decision analysis. It can carry out decision analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, and Monte Carlo simulation. With powerful functionlity and outstanding visualization, it can build Markov disease transition models to analyze Markov processes according to disease models and accomplish decision analysis with decision trees and influence diagrams. This paper introduces cost-effectiveness analysis based on Markov model with examples and explains the main graphs.
Objective To analyze the influence of the body mass index (BMI) and age on deep vein thrombosis (DVT) after the total hip arthroplasty(THA) or total knee arthroplasty(TKA) in Chinese patients who received prophylactic treatment for DVT. Methods We used a randomized clinical case-control study. From April 2004 to August 2004, weperformed THA and TKA for 95 patients (128 hips and knees). There were 27 men and 68 women with an average age of 60 years (range, 23-78) at surgery, and withan average BMI of 25.88 kg/m2 (range, 14.34-40.39) before surgery. All the patients were given low-molecular-weight heparin for 7-10 days pre-and postoperatively to prevent DVT. Color Doppler ultrasonography was used to detect DVT of bilateral lower extremities in all the patients before operation and 7-10 days after operation.The patients were divided into 4 groups according to their BMI:the non-obese group (BMI≤25.00 kg/m2), the overweight group (BMI, 25.01-27.00 kg/m2), the obese group (BMI, 27.01-30.00 kg/m2), and the morbidly obese group (BMIgt;30.00 kg/m2); and they were also divided into 4 groups according to their ages (≤40, 4160, 61.70, gt;70 yr) so as to analyze the influence of the BMI and age on DVT. Results The total incidence ofDVT in all the patients was 47.4% (45/95) and the incidence of proximal DVT was 3.2%. Forty-five patients had DVT and 50 patients had no DVT. The average BMI of the patients with DVT was significantly higher than that of the patients with no DVT (Plt;005). The overweight, obese, and morbidly obese patients had an odds ratio of 7.04, 4.8,and 9.6 for DVT compared with the nonobese patients (P＜0.05); but the obese group had a less risk than the other 2 groups.The 41-60, 61-70, and gt;70-year-old patients had an odds ratio of 24.0, 38.2, and 24.4 for DVT compared with the ≤40year-old patients (P＜0.05). Conclusion Obesity (BMIgt;25 kg/m2) and an increasing age (gt;40 yr) are identified as statistically significant risk factors for DVT after THA or TKA, and patients aged 61-70 years are more likely tohave DVT than the other patients. We should pay more attention to those obesity and aged patients when they are undergoing the total joint replacement, and we should give them enough prophylaxis and closely observe the symptoms in their bilateral lower extremities after operation, taking ultrasonography or venography to check DVT if necessary, so that we can give them prompt treatment and prevent fatal pulmonary thromboembolism.
ObjectiveTo determine the retinal thickness of normal children 3-6 years old and its relationship with the age and gender. MethodsIn a cross-sectional study, 480 eyes of 240 normal preschool children including 115 male and 125 female, ages 3 to 6 years in the urban of Beijing, China were included. The average age was (4.93±0.77) years old. The visual acuity, slit-lamp microscopy and frequency domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT, Optvue, Inc. USA) were examined. The retinal thickness of the macular fovea and 500, 750, 1500 μm from temporal and nasal side around the fovea were measured. 32 eyes were excluded from the study because they couldn't cooperate. Pearson correlation analysis was used to determine the correlation between age and macular retinal thickness. Independent samples group t-test was used to compare the differences between boys and girls. ResultsThe mean thickness of macular fovea was (169.10±20.587) μm. The mean macular thickness of boys was significantly higher than girls (t=-4.549, -6.167, -5.492, -5.163, -6.749, -7.494, -6.874; P≤0.001). The mean thickness of 500 μm and 750 μm from nasal side of macular fovea were significantly higher than temporal side (t=5.594, 15.778, 7.678, 18.180; P < 0.001). There was no significant relevance between macular thickness and age. ConclusionsThe mean macular thickness of boys is significantly higher than girls in normal children in the urban of Beijing. There is no significant relevance between macular thickness and age.
To evaluate the development prevention and treatment of pneumonic injury after operation on aged patients with abdominal infection. We analyzed 77 aged patients (＞60 y) admitted from Jan. 1991 to Dec. 1992: 38 cases of which with abdominal infection (infection group), 39 cases without abdominal infection (non-infection group). All patients were given oxygen therapy and continuous SaO2 monitoring. Results: There were 28 patients with hypoxemia (SaO2＜95%) in infection group, with an occurrence rate of 73.7%. In non-infection group (12 patients), the rate of hyoxemia was 30.8%, which has significant difference between two groups (Ｐ＜0.001). All patients with hypoxemia were given oxygen therapy and 31 patients′ SaO2 was elevated. The efficient rate was 77.5%. Other 9 patients developed ARDS, the rate was 2.5% (9/40). In the infection group 8 patients developed ARDS with an occurrence rate of 21.1%. There was one patient with ARDS in the non-infection group, the rate was 2.6%. There was significant difference between two group (Ｐ＜0.05). Conclusions: The results suggest that hypoxemia is liable to occur in aged patients with abdominal infection after operation and these patients were liable to develop ARDS. Oxygen therapy and SaO2 monitoring is the important managements to these patients in prevention of pneumonic injury.
Objective To explore the feasibility and effect of remote medical education model using online film reading training to improve the ability of ophthalmologists in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (hereinafter referred to as “Xinjiang Region”) in diagnosing fundus diseases. MethodsThe three-level film reading training system of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps system division hospital-Corps Hospital-Peking Union Medical College Hospital was established. From June 2022 to January 2023, 4 159 posterior color fundus images were continuously collected from Department of Ophthalmology of Xinjiang Corps Hospital and 4 divisional hospitals in the Corps medical system. Among them, hypertensive retinopathy, diabetic retinopathy, exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD), atrophic AMD and retinal vein occlusion were 3 073, 651, 43, 186 and 206 cases, respectively. The images were divided into 3 rounds (first, second and last) according to the proportion of diseases. The doctors who participated in the training (hereinafter referred to as the "training") were 15 ophthalmologists from the Corps Hospital of Xinjiang Region and the division hospital of the Corps system. There were 7 male and 8 female. Age was (38.1±4.0) years. The titles of senior, deputy senior, intermediate and junior are 1, 6, 5 and 3 respectively; Bachelor's degree and master's degree are 13 and 2 respectively. The working time of fundus disease specialty was (9.6±3.3) years. The film reading system training was conducted before the first round of labeling, and after each round of film reading, the doctors of Peking Union Medical College Hospital gave feedback and explanation on the film reading results. The diagnostic consistency, sensitivity and specificity were compared by paired sample t test. Spearman or Pearson correlation analysis was conducted between the improvement of diagnostic level and professional title, education, age and working hours of ocular fundus disease. ResultsAll the participating doctors completed the first, second and last reading. After each round of film reading, the film reading summary was carried out for 2 hours. The average diagnostic agreement rates of participating physicians were 53.0%, 67.0% and 75.0%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity were 0.38, 0.69, 054 and 0.66, 0.85, 0.96, respectively. There was significant difference between the first and last examination (P＜0.001). The sensitivity of the second reading was significantly higher than that of the first reading, and the sensitivity of the last reading was significantly lower than that of the second reading, with statistical significance (P＜0.05). The specificity of the second reading was significantly higher than that of the first reading, and the last reading was significantly higher than that of the second reading, with statistical significance (P＜0.05). There was no significant correlation (P＞0.05) between the improvement of diagnostic level of participating physicians and educational background (Rho=0.07), professional title (Rho=0.13), age (r=0.20), and working time of ophthalmofundus disease specialty (r=0.26).ConclusionsRelying on the three-level online telemedicine training, it can improve the ability of ophthalmologists in Xinjiang region to diagnose fundus diseases. The preliminary telemedicine education model has demonstrated potential for feasibility and effectiveness in remote areas with inadequate medical resources.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) represents a significant cause of visual impairment and blindness in individuals over 65 years old. In recent years, gene therapy has emerged as a research hotspot for wet AMD, with adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors being widely utilized due to their non-pathogenic nature, low immunogenicity, broad tissue tropism, and capacity for sustained transgene expression. Several related studies have progressed to clinical trial stages. Although challenges persist, including immunogenicity concerns, limited vector capacity, and potential long-term adverse effects, the continuous advancement of research strategies and technologies holds promise. Future developments may employ AAV delivery systems to achieve gene supplementation, gene editing, or gene silencing of angiogenesis-related signaling molecules, thereby providing novel therapeutic approaches for wet AMD.
Objective To explore the accuracy and practicability of bone age assessment for the diagnosis of idiopathic precocious puberty (IPP). Methods According to the “Gold Standard”, we selected 55 girls with IPP for the study group, and 83 normal girls for the control group. We retrospectively analyzed the first left hand-wrist radiographs at the first visit. Bone ages were assessed by using a single-blind method according to the RUS (Radius Ulna and Short bones), carpale and 20 bones method (TW2). Each had 5 decision thresholds (gt;97th percentile, gt;90th percentile, gt;75th percentile, gt;50th percentile and ≤50th percentile). The diagnostic values from RUS, carpale and 20 bones methods assessing bone age were analyzed to identify the best decision threshold. Results ① Both sensitivity and specificity of the four decision thresholds were relatively higher, including gt;90th percentile of RUS (sensitivity 0.836, specificity 0.916), gt;90th percentile of carpale (sensitivity 0.746, specificity 0.916), gt;90th and gt;75th percentile of 20 bone (sensitivity 0.746, specificity 0.964 and sensitivity 0.982, specificity 0.783, respectively). ② Area under receiver operator characteristic curve (AUR): AUR of RUS 0.939 ± 0.019 (95%CI 0.902 to 0.977), AUR of carpale 0.899 ± 0.028 (95%CI 0.845 to 0.954), AUR of 20 bone 0.958 ± 0.014 (95%CI 0.930 to 0.986). No significant difference was found (F=2.03, P=0.13). ③ Agreement assessment within-observer reliability was 89.28%, and between-observer reliability was 80.3% (Kappa 0.68, u=6.87, P＜0.01). Conclusions RUS and 20 bones methods have high accuracy for the diagnosis of idiopathic precocious puberty. Considering sensitivity and specificity, we think that ＞90th percentile of RUS is the best decision threshold.
Objective To investigate the relationship between velopharyngeal functions and factors such as age at operation , cleft type, performing procedure.Methods FFT technique and velopharyngeal X-ray examination were used to evaluate the velopharyngeal functions of 82 patients. The relatively important factors affecting velopharyngeal functions were searched out through regression analyse and pearson correlation. Results A significant positive correlation was confirmed between AAO(age at operation) and A1/A2(velopharyngeal incompetence), Plt;0.001. AAO also showed linear regression with A1/A2. Model was significant, Plt;0.001. Quotation: A1/A2(velopharyngeal incompetence)=0.005 852×AAO+0.961. Conclusion AAOwas an important affecting factor on velopharyngeal functions. The earlier the cleft is repaired, the more normal velopharyngeal functions will be obtained.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes of irreversible vision loss. There are two primary forms of AMD: exudative age-related macular degeneration (WAMD) and atrophic AMD (DAMD). While numerous medications are currently available for the treatment of WAMD, yielding significant therapeutic outcomes, effective treatments for DAMD remain scarce. Various animal studies and clinical trials on DAMD treatment have been conducted, focusing primarily on antioxidants, complement pathway inhibitors, mitochondrial protectors, visual cycle inhibitors, neuroprotectants, amphiphilic polymer-based drug delivery systems, cell therapy, photobiomodulation therapy, gene therapy, surgical interventions, and traditional Chinese medicine. Among these, antioxidant supplementation with vitamins and complement pathway inhibitor APL-2 and ACP have received Food and Drug Administration approval for the treatment of DAMD. With the continuous development of the medical field, the future will explore the treatment methods with little trauma, good efficacy and good patient compliance, and successfully achieve clinical transformation.
Purpose To investigate the histopathologic changes of macula lutea retinae in the elderly Chinese population,and to provide information for the cause of visiual disturbance in an autopsy study. Methods Two hundred and twelve eyes from 108 consecutive cases of postmortem (mean age of 78.4 years old) sections of the area of macula lutea retinae were studied by histopathology. Results Among the 212 eyes,hard drusen were found in 36.3% of eyes and soft drusen in 19.3% of eyes.The eyes with both of the above mentioned 2 types of drusens were found to be combined with RPE atrophy and RPE detachment;and subretinal neovascularization were found in 5.7% of these eyes and they were associated with obvious RPE atrophy and photoreceptor loss;3.2% eyes had posterior scleral staphyloma showing thinning of the sclera and choroid,RPE atrophy and apparent photoreceptor loss;2.4%eyes showed CME with the history of cataract surgery. Conclusion The macular affections,age-related macular degeneration,myopic macular degeneration and post-perative cystoid macular edema are varying in number in the above mentioned order successively,in elderly Chinese at an autopsy study. (Chin J Ocul Fundus Dis,2000,16:233-235)