Challenges with Forecasting Budget Impact: A Case Study of Six ICER Reports

Background

Payers frequently rely on budget impact model (BIM) results to help determine drug coverage policy and its effect on their bottom line. It is unclear whether BIMs typically overestimate or underestimate real-world budget impact.

Developing Organ Offer and Acceptance Measures: When 'Good' Organs Are Turned Down

Turndowns of offers of deceased donor kidneys for transplantation can contribute to inefficiencies in the organ distribution system and inequality in access to donated organs. Match run data were obtained for 4967 'good' kidneys placed and transplanted in 2005 after fewer than 50 offers. These kidneys were not recovered from donation after cardiac death or expanded criteria donors, or from donors with a history of substance abuse. On average, these good kidneys were not accepted until after seven offers to candidates and after offers to 2.4 programs. Models for the likelihood of acceptance found several donor and candidate characteristics to be significantly related to acceptance rates (p < 0.05). After accounting for these variables, there remained 2- to 3-fold differences among transplant programs in acceptance rates. These models could be used to identify kidney transplant centers with exceptional acceptance practices. Several strategies might be employed to increase acceptance rates for good organs.     

显露血管内皮下层纤维连接素的方法

本文报道了一种显露内皮下层纤维连接素的理想方法。大白鼠主动脉壁分别用1.0％NP-40作用5min,30.0mmol/L KCl作用10min后,内皮细胞全部脱离,内皮下层大部分纤维连接素被保留。本法适用于建立细胞与血管壁相互作用的体外实验模型。     

Guidelines for Trials of Behavioral Treatments for Recurrent Headache, First Edition: American Headache Society Behavioral Clinical Trials Workgroup

Guidelines for design of clinical trials evaluating behavioral headache treatments were developed to facilitate production of quality research evaluating behavioral therapies for management of primary headache disorders. These guidelines were produced by a Workgroup of headache researchers under auspices of the American Headache Society. The guidelines are complementary to and modeled after guidelines for pharmacological trials published by the International Headache Society, but they address methodologic considerations unique to behavioral and other nonpharmacological treatments. Explicit guidelines for evaluating behavioral headache therapies are needed as the optimal methodology for behavioral (and other nonpharmacologic) trials necessarily differs from the preferred methodology for drug trials. In addition, trials comparing and integrating drug and behavioral therapies present methodological challenges not addressed by guidelines for pharmacologic research. These guidelines address patient selection, trial design for behavioral treatments and for comparisons across multiple treatment modalities (eg, behavioral vs pharmacologic), evaluation of results, and research ethics. Although developed specifically for behavioral therapies, the guidelines may apply to the design of clinical trials evaluating many forms of nonpharmacologic therapies for headache.     

Selective drop-out in successive in-vitro fertilization attempts: the pendulum danger.

Success rates from in-vitro fertilization (IVF) in the long term are dependent on selection procedures with regard to continuation into further IVF episodes. Publications on success rates in successive episodes will give incentives to adapt selection criteria, but if these publications do not deal explicitly with patient selection, the adaptations might change their direction every time: the pendulum danger.     

《癌变·畸变·突变》杂志1992──1995年16期文献计量分析

运用文献计量分分析法对本刊１９９２－１９９５年１６期所刊文章作了分析。结果：致突变的文章较多；每篇文章作者平均３．９４人，大多集中在高等院校及科研机构，地区分布较广，高产作家尚少；平均引文８．２２篇，引文以中、英文期刊为主；文献半衰期为中文４．１６年，英文６．９３年；有８种核心期刊；自引率较高。与创刊后的前１２期（１９８９－１９９２）相比：一次性文献比重明显增加，致畸文章比重增加，高产作家相对增多，英文引文增加，英文半衰期缩短近二年半，提示刊物水平有提高趋势。