Acyclovir in general practice

1992 ◽  
Vol 30 (26) ◽  
pp. 101-104 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
General Practice ◽  
Herpes Simplex ◽  
Early Treatment ◽  
Systemic Treatment ◽  
Systemic Infection ◽  
Herpes Viruses ◽  
Important Advance ◽  
Varicella Zoster ◽  
Ocular Herpes ◽  
The Cost

Acyclovir (Zovirax; Wellcome) is now widely prescribed for the treatment of herpes infections. In 1984 we hailed acyclovir as an important advance for the “early treatment of primary skin and ocular herpes simplex infections and for varicella-zoster infections requiring systemic treatment”, but warned against using it “indiscriminately in view of the cost, the lack of data on toxicity and the increasing number of acyclovir-resistant herpes viruses being reported.”1 In this article we appraise the place of acyclovir in general practice and so for the treatment of patients likely to be immunocompetent and without severe systemic infection.

The neurotropic herpes viruses: herpes simplex and varicella-zoster

2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. 1015-1028 ◽  
Author(s):  
Israel Steiner ◽  
Peter GE Kennedy ◽  
Andrew R Pachner
Keyword(s):  
Herpes Simplex ◽  
Herpes Viruses ◽  
Varicella Zoster

The cost-effectiveness of one-time opportunistic screening for atrial fibrillation in different age cohorts of inhabitants in Denmark aged 65 years and above: a Markov modelled analysis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucca Katrine Sciera ◽  
Lars Frost ◽  
Lars Dybro ◽  
Peter Bo Poulsen
Keyword(s):  
Atrial Fibrillation ◽  
General Practice ◽  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Incremental Cost ◽  
Population Data ◽  
National Registry ◽  
Opportunistic Screening ◽  
Age Cohorts ◽  
Life Years ◽  
The Cost

Abstract Aims The objective was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of one-time opportunistic screening for atrial fibrillation (AF) in general practice in citizens aged ≥65 years in Denmark compared to a no-screening alternative following current Danish practice. Methods and results A decision tree and a Markov model were designed to simulate costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) in a hypothetical cohort of citizens aged ≥65 years equivalent to the Danish population (1 M citizens) over the course of 19 years, using a healthcare and societal perspective. Share of detected AF patients following opportunistic screening was retrieved from a recent Danish screening study, whereas the risk stroke and bleedings in AF patients were based on population data from national registries and their associated costs was obtained from published national registry studies. The present study showed that one-time opportunistic screening for AF was more costly, but also more effective compared to a no-screening alternative. The analysis predicts that one-time opportunistic screening of all Danes aged ≥65 years potentially can identify an additional 10 300 AF patients and prevent 856 strokes in the period considered. The incremental cost of such a screening programme is €56.4 M, with a total gain of 6000 QALYs, resulting in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of €9400 per QALY gained. Conclusion Opportunistic screening in general practice in citizens aged ≥65 years in Denmark is cost-effective compared to a willingness-to-pay threshold of €22 000. The study and its findings support a potential implementation of opportunistic screening for AF at the general practitioner level in Denmark.

scholarly journals An analysis of infection control of varicella-zoster virus infections in Addenbrooke's Hospital Cambridge over a 5-year period, 1987–92

1996 ◽  
Vol 117 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. G. Wreghitt ◽  
J. Whipp ◽  
C. Redpath ◽  
W. Hollingworth
Keyword(s):  
Nosocomial Infection ◽  
Infection Control ◽  
Prospective Study ◽  
Varicella Zoster Virus ◽  
Virus Infections ◽  
Patient Case ◽  
Varicella Zoster ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Spread Of Infection ◽  
The Cost

SummaryThis prospective study analyses infections with varicella-zoster virus (VZV) in Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge during 1987–92 and examines the spread of infection. In total, 93 patients and staff experienced VZV infection. Twenty-one patients had varicella and 49 experienced zoster. None of 101 patients and 1 of 625 staff members in contact with varicella cases acquired infection. By contrast, 2 of 227 patients, and 5 of 1039 staff in contact with zoster cases acquired varicella. One out of 28 (3·6%) VZV antibody-negative patients and staff in contact with varicella acquired infection, compared with 5 out of 29 (17·2%) VZV antibody-negative patients and staff in contact with zoster. Thus, zoster was found to be a more frequent cause of nosocomial infection than varicella. Fourteen members of staff had VZV infection during the study period. One of 99 patients and none of 389 staff members in contact with these cases developed varicella. The cost of dealing with infection control for VZV infections in our hospital is estimated to be £714 per patient case and a total of £13204 per year.

Is Acupuncture for Pain Relief in General Practice Cost-Effective?

1999 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Lindall
Keyword(s):  
General Practice ◽  
Pain Relief ◽  
Acupuncture Treatment ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Total Saving ◽  
Hospital Outpatient ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Lost To Follow Up ◽  
Practice Cost

Sixty-five selected patients with pain, mainly of musculo-skeletal origin, were offered treatment by a qualified medical acupuncturist in his general practice surgery as an alternative to hospital outpatient referral. The patients assessed their own outcomes on a digital scale: there were 46 successful treatments and 14 failures, with 5 being lost to follow up. The cost of acupuncture treatment was compared to that of the referral that would have been made if acupuncture had not been offered. The acupuncture was found to have cost £10,943 against a minimum likely cost for hospital referrals of £26,783. A minimum total saving for all 60 patients of £13,916 was determined, giving an average saving per patient of £232. Additional hidden savings through avoiding further hospital procedures and expenditure on medication were not taken into account. It is concluded that acupuncture in selected patients and when used by an appropriately qualified practitioner appears to be a cost-effective therapy for use in general practice, reducing the need for more expensive hospital referrals.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document