Health technology assessment : HTA
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Health Technol Assess · Dec 2010
ReviewThe Swine Flu Triage (SwiFT) study: development and ongoing refinement of a triage tool to provide regular information to guide immediate policy and practice for the use of critical care services during the H1N1 swine influenza pandemic.
To use, existing critical care and early pandemic, data to inform care during the pandemic influenza A 2009 (H1N1) pandemic (with a possible use for triage - if the demand for critical care seriously exceeded supply). To monitor the impact of the H1N1 pandemic on critical care services, in real time, with regular feedback to critical care clinicians and other relevant jurisdictions to inform ongoing policy and practice. ⋯ The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme.
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Health Technol Assess · Dec 2010
ReviewClinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of stem cell transplantation in the management of acute leukaemia: a systematic review.
Acute leukaemia is a group of rapidly progressing cancers of bone marrow and blood classified as either acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) or acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). Haemopoietic stem cell transplantation (SCT) has developed as an adjunct to or replacement for conventional chemotherapy with the aim of improving survival and quality of life. ⋯ Bearing in mind the limitations, existing evidence suggests that sibling donor allogeneic SCT may be more effective than chemotherapy in adult AML (except in good-risk patients) in CR1, childhood AML in CR1 and adult ALL in CR1, and that autologous SCT is equal to or less effective than chemotherapy. No firm conclusions could be drawn regarding the cost-effectiveness of SCT in the UK NHS owing to the limitations given above. Future research should include the impact of the treatments on patients' quality of life as well as information on health service use and costs associated with SCT from the perspective of the UK NHS.