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Issue

Vol 126 No 1378: 12 July 2013

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Issue Summary

SUMMARY

An unusual cause of pleural effusion

Shwan Karim, Ya-Shu Chang

Systemic amyloidosis is uncommon and can affect different organs in different patients. Pleural effusion and pericardial effusion due to systemic amyloidosis are rare. To date, only a few reports have been reported in the literature. We report an interesting case of systemic amyloidosis causing heavy proteinuria, pleural effusion and pericardial effusion.

SUMMARY

Assessing the value for money of pharmaceuticals in New Zealand—PHARMAC’s approach to cost-utility analysis

Rachel Grocott, Scott Metcalfe, Paul Alexander, Rachel Werner

Cost-utility analysis (CUA) is a form of economic analysis that has been used by PHARMAC for nearly 20 years. It is also used by many health funding and assessment agencies internationally. So what is CUA and why is it so important? This article describes the process involved in undertaking CUA, including critical appraisal of clinical evidence; transforming the evidence to estimate quality-adjusted life years (QALYs); estimating costs; and how this information is combined to obtain an output that can be used to inform decision-making. The article also describes how PHARMAC uses CUA to prioritise pharmaceuticals for funding in New Zealand.

SUMMARY

Severe impact of the 1918–19 pandemic influenza in a national military force

Jennifer A Summers, G Dennis Shanks, Michael G Baker, Nick Wilson

The impact of pandemic influenza on the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) in 1918-19 has never been studied using modern epidemiological methods. Therefore we analysed mortality and descriptive data from various sources for these military personnel. An estimated 930 NZEF personnel deaths from pandemic influenza occurred in 1918-19, making it the main cause of disease deaths, and representing 5.1% of all NZEF deaths from World War One (WW1). The epidemic curve was much more drawn out in the Northern Hemisphere compared with the Southern Hemisphere. Mortality rates varied markedly by setting (e.g. in military camps, by country and by hemisphere). Significantly higher mortality rates were found amongst NZEF personnel: aged 30-34 years, those of Mori ethnicity, those with a rural background, and those who left New Zealand for Europe in 1918. In conclusion, this work documents the heavy mortality burden from pandemic influenza amongst this national military force and highlights the large variations in mortality rates through host and environmental factors.

ALL ARTICLES
SUMMARY

A disease deadlier than war

Geoffrey W Rice

Pneumococcal disease in New Zealand and prevailing inequalities, the tip of the lower respiratory infection iceberg

Helen A Petousis-Harris

An unusual cause of pleural effusion

Shwan Karim, Ya-Shu Chang

Assessing the value for money of pharmaceuticals in New Zealand—PHARMAC’s approach to cost-utility analysis

Rachel Grocott, Scott Metcalfe, Paul Alexander, Rachel Werner

Reading between the COPD audits: have current GOLD standards lost their lustre?

Catherina L Chang, Robert J Hancox, Lutz Beckert

Severe impact of the 1918–19 pandemic influenza in a national military force

Jennifer A Summers, G Dennis Shanks, Michael G Baker, Nick Wilson

Medical image. An unexpected finding in a patient with cough

Victoria Mayoral Campos, Claudia Bonnet Carr\u00f3n, Beatriz Carro Alonso, Cristina Puebla Macarr\u00f3n, Jos\u00e9 Luis Benito Ar\u00e9valo

SUMMARY

An unusual cause of pleural effusion

Shwan Karim, Ya-Shu Chang

Systemic amyloidosis is uncommon and can affect different organs in different patients. Pleural effusion and pericardial effusion due to systemic amyloidosis are rare. To date, only a few reports have been reported in the literature. We report an interesting case of systemic amyloidosis causing heavy proteinuria, pleural effusion and pericardial effusion.

SUMMARY

Assessing the value for money of pharmaceuticals in New Zealand—PHARMAC’s approach to cost-utility analysis

Rachel Grocott, Scott Metcalfe, Paul Alexander, Rachel Werner

Cost-utility analysis (CUA) is a form of economic analysis that has been used by PHARMAC for nearly 20 years. It is also used by many health funding and assessment agencies internationally. So what is CUA and why is it so important? This article describes the process involved in undertaking CUA, including critical appraisal of clinical evidence; transforming the evidence to estimate quality-adjusted life years (QALYs); estimating costs; and how this information is combined to obtain an output that can be used to inform decision-making. The article also describes how PHARMAC uses CUA to prioritise pharmaceuticals for funding in New Zealand.

SUMMARY

Severe impact of the 1918–19 pandemic influenza in a national military force

Jennifer A Summers, G Dennis Shanks, Michael G Baker, Nick Wilson

The impact of pandemic influenza on the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) in 1918-19 has never been studied using modern epidemiological methods. Therefore we analysed mortality and descriptive data from various sources for these military personnel. An estimated 930 NZEF personnel deaths from pandemic influenza occurred in 1918-19, making it the main cause of disease deaths, and representing 5.1% of all NZEF deaths from World War One (WW1). The epidemic curve was much more drawn out in the Northern Hemisphere compared with the Southern Hemisphere. Mortality rates varied markedly by setting (e.g. in military camps, by country and by hemisphere). Significantly higher mortality rates were found amongst NZEF personnel: aged 30-34 years, those of Mori ethnicity, those with a rural background, and those who left New Zealand for Europe in 1918. In conclusion, this work documents the heavy mortality burden from pandemic influenza amongst this national military force and highlights the large variations in mortality rates through host and environmental factors.

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