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Biomedical subjects

Y Matillon

Publications and source records attributed to Y Matillon.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Cost-effectiveness of screening blood donors for hepatitis C and non-A, non-B, non-C hepatitis. The EATHIS Eco Research Group. European Acute Transfusion Hepatitis Interferon Study.

The current approach to screening for hepatitis C and non-A, non-B, non-C hepatitis in French blood transfusion centers involves a combination of a transaminase assay and tests for antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) and antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV). A decision-analysis model was used to assess the cost-effectiveness ratio of this approach compared to the former approach, which included only transaminase and anti-HBc screening. Cost data were collected by a questionnaire sent to 26 centers throughout France. The average costs of diagnostic kits, equipment, staff, and administration were calculated. Estimates of prevalence and sensitivity values came from the medical literature. The cost-effectiveness ratio was expressed in French francs per infected donor detected. A sensitivity analysis of the variables in the model was performed to estimate the validity of the cost-effectiveness ratio. For 100,000 donations the incremental cost of the current approach reached FrF 2,566,111 (about US $500,000), with a marginal effectiveness of 180 donations detected. The sensitivity analysis showed the effect of prevalence on the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. Transfusion centers may change their screening approach in areas of high or low prevalence of hepatitis C in France.

Blood Donors

[Decision analysis of congenital toxoplasmosis in the absence of exact knowledge of the treatment benefits and secondary effects].

Decision analysis seemed the appropriate method to bring out the interest of toxoplasmosis serology in children born from mothers who seroconverted during pregnancy. In particular it provides the possibility to choose between IgA serology, recently introduced in hospital practice, and IgM serology that is the reference test. We study a series of 96 children suspected of having congenital toxoplasmosis who were followed up until the age of one. A decision analysis is thereafter conducted by synthesizing data about clinical efficacy with the RBNCN ratio that is the net benefit of treating an affected person divided by the net cost of treating an unaffected person; these costs and benefits are clinical. The effectiveness of the treatment (sulphonamides in most cases) was not quantified. Therefore, we used the fact that the RBNCN ratio is equal to the number of healthy children likely to be treated unnecessarily in order not to leave untreated a contaminated child. Although data available in the literature and data from our study still remain insufficient to draw a final conclusion, IgA antibodies are significantly more sensitive than IgM antibodies (p < 0.01). Conversely, IgA antibodies are significantly less specific than IgM antibodies (p < 0.001). The sensitivity analysis shows that the IgA test is preferred to the IgM test if the mother is contaminated during the third trimester. On the other hand, for low prevalences, as observed in the first trimester, the IgM serology is more useful.

Anti-Infective Agents

[Medical and economic evaluation of donated blood screening for hepatitis C and non-A, non-B, non-C hepatitis].

The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost of hepatitis C and non-A non-B non-C screening strategy in donated blood, currently used in French transfusion centres and to assess the effect in the blood transfusion centres according to the prevalence of the disease and the intrinsec values of tests. This screening strategy was based on alanine aminotransferase assay, and HBc and HCV antibodies detection. In 1993, a survey was conducted in 26 French transfusion centers to estimate the costs of the screening strategy currently used. Average expenditure on diagnostic sets, equipment, staff and administration charges for hepatitis C and non-A non-B non-C screening were calculated. From these results, we estimated the cost of the previous strategy which did not involve HCV antibody testing, so as to determine the incremental cost between the two strategies. We used clinical decision analysis and sensitivity analysis to estimate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio with data gathered from the literature and examine the impact on blood transfusion centre. Implemented for 100,000 volunteer blood donations, the incremental cost of the new strategy was FF 2,566,111 (1992) and the marginal effectiveness was 180 additional infected donations detected. The sensitivity analysis showed the major influence of infection prevalence in donated blood on the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio: the lower the prevalence, the higher the cost-effectiveness ratio per contaminated blood product avoided.

Adult

[Management of myocardial infarction in the Rhone-Alps area. Are there many variations in practice?].

The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic and therapeutic strategies after myocardial infarction and to examine variations in medical and surgical practice with respect to the severity of disease, status of the hospital and patients' characteristics. The method used was a prospective study with follow-up at 30 days and 18 months. The subjects came from an exhaustive cohort of all patients admitted to hospital for myocardial infarction during the month of April 1991 in 57 public and private hospitals in the Rhone-Alps region (n = 311). The patients were identified after admission by consulting physicians of the Department of Social Security. The study included all patients with acute myocardial infarction with at least two of the three usual diagnostic criteria (prolonged, constrictive chest pain, enzyme increases and electrocardiographic changes). The study excluded patients who were dead before arrival at hospital. The parameters analysed included the clinical management, use of echocardiography, exercise stress testing, myocardial scintigraphy, coronary angiography, thrombolysis, angioplasty and coronary bypass surgery in the first 30 days after admission. The severity of infarction was assessed by seven clinical, enzymatic and electrocardiographic criteria by physicians from the Department of Social Security (pain, syncope, shock, left ventricular dysfunction, elevation of CPK > 1000 IU, anterior or extensive necrosis, arrhythmias). The mortality rate of this cohort was calculated from hospital statistics and then by enquiring in the town halls of the region. The demographic features of the cohort were marked by a predominance of men (69.5%) and a relatively high mean age (69 years; 23% over 80 years). Complementary investigations were used with the following frequencies: echocardiography, 61.1%; coronary angiography, 26.4%; exercise stress testing 22.8%; myocardial scintigraphy, 5.5%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult

Data quality in a DRG-based information system.

The aim of this study initiated in May 1990 was to evaluate the quality of the medical data collected from the main hospital of the "Hospices Civils de Lyon", Edouard Herriot Hospital. We studied a random sample of 593 discharge abstracts from 12 wards of the hospital. Quality control was performed by checking multi-hospitalized patients' personal data, checking that each discharge abstract was exhaustive, examining the quality of abstracting, studying diagnoses and medical procedures coding, and checking data entry. Assessment of personal data showed a 4.4% error rate. It was mainly accounted for by spelling mistakes in surnames and first names, and mistakes in dates of birth. The quality of a discharge abstract was estimated according to the two purposes of the medical information system: description of hospital morbidity per patient and Diagnosis Related Group's case mix. Error rates in discharge abstracts were expressed in two ways: an overall rate for errors of concordance between Discharge Abstracts and Medical Records, and a specific rate for errors modifying classification in Diagnosis Related Groups (DRG). For abstracting medical information, these error rates were 11.5% (SE +/- 2.2) and 7.5% (SE +/- 1.9) respectively. For coding diagnoses and procedures, they were 11.4% (SE +/- 1.5) and 1.3% (SE +/- 0.5) respectively. For data entry on the computerized data base, the error rate was 2% (SE +/- 0.5) and 0.2% (SE +/- 0.05). Quality control must be performed regularly because it demonstrates the degree of participation from health care teams and the coherence of the database.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Data Collection

[Analysis of the medical decision].

Analysis of clinical decision making is a quantitative method using probabilities to evaluate the process in uncertain situations. It provides a model of clinical decision making by integrating experimental and epidemiological data, the opinions of specialists and an assessment of the patient's state of health. There is also a place for the integration of the patients' opinions and of their quality of life. Using this information and eventually associating the cost of management, analysis of decision making tries to demonstrate a preference for a given strategy in a given clinical or public health problem. This article presents the methodological basis of analysis of decision making using a simple example of clinical cardiological practice and discusses the value of this method for debating a clinical choice with criteria integrating the patients' quality of life and the cost to society.

Cost of Illness