Patients with hematological malignancies are at high risk of infections due to both the disease and the associated treatments. The use of immunoglobulin (Ig) to prevent infections is increasing in this population, but its cost effectiveness is unknown. This trial-based economic evaluation aimed to compare the cost effectiveness of prophylactic Ig with prophylactic antibiotics in patients with hematological malignancies.

The economic evaluation used individual patient data from the RATIONAL feasibility trial, which randomly assigned 63 adults with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, multiple myeloma, or lymphoma to prophylactic Ig or prophylactic antibiotics. The following two analyses were conducted to estimate the cost effectiveness of the two treatments over the 12-month trial period from the perspective of the Australian health system:

(i) a cost-utility analysis (CUA) to assess the incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained using data collected with the EuroQol 5D-5L questionnaire; and

(ii) a cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) to assess the incremental cost per serious infection prevented (grade ≥3) and per infection prevented (any grade).

The total cost per patient was significantly higher in the Ig arm than in the antibiotic arm (difference AUD29,140 [USD19,000]). There were non-significant differences in health outcomes between the treatment arms: patients treated with Ig had fewer QALYs (difference −0.072) and serious infections (difference −0.26) than those given antibiotics, but more overall infections (difference 0.76). The incremental cost-effectiveness from the CUA indicated that Ig was more costly than antibiotics and associated with fewer QALYs. In the CEA, Ig costed an additional AUD111,262 (USD73,000) per serious infection prevented, but it was more costly than antibiotics and associated with more infections when all infections were included.

These results indicate that, on average, Ig prophylactic treatment may not be cost effective compared with prophylactic antibiotics for the group of patients with hematological malignancies recruited to the RATIONAL feasibility trial. Further research is needed to confirm these findings in a larger population and over the longer term.

The most common treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD) is antidepressant medication (ADM). Results are reported on frequency of ADM use, reasons for use, and perceived effectiveness of use in general population surveys across 20 countries.

Face-to-face interviews with community samples totaling n = 49 919 respondents in the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys asked about ADM use anytime in the prior 12 months in conjunction with validated fully structured diagnostic interviews. Treatment questions were administered independently of diagnoses and asked of all respondents.

3.1% of respondents reported ADM use within the past 12 months. In high-income countries (HICs), depression (49.2%) and anxiety (36.4%) were the most common reasons for use. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), depression (38.4%) and sleep problems (31.9%) were the most common reasons for use. Prevalence of use was 2–4 times as high in HICs as LMICs across all examined diagnoses. Newer ADMs were proportionally used more often in HICs than LMICs. Across all conditions, ADMs were reported as very effective by 58.8% of users and somewhat effective by an additional 28.3% of users, with both proportions higher in LMICs than HICs. Neither ADM class nor reason for use was a significant predictor of perceived effectiveness.

ADMs are in widespread use and for a variety of conditions including but going beyond depression and anxiety. In a general population sample from multiple LMICs and HICs, ADMs were widely perceived to be either very or somewhat effective by the people who use them.

This is the first report on the association between trauma exposure and depression from the Advancing Understanding of RecOvery afteR traumA(AURORA) multisite longitudinal study of adverse post-traumatic neuropsychiatric sequelae (APNS) among participants seeking emergency department (ED) treatment in the aftermath of a traumatic life experience.

We focus on participants presenting at EDs after a motor vehicle collision (MVC), which characterizes most AURORA participants, and examine associations of participant socio-demographics and MVC characteristics with 8-week depression as mediated through peritraumatic symptoms and 2-week depression.

Eight-week depression prevalence was relatively high (27.8%) and associated with several MVC characteristics (being passenger v. driver; injuries to other people). Peritraumatic distress was associated with 2-week but not 8-week depression. Most of these associations held when controlling for peritraumatic symptoms and, to a lesser degree, depressive symptoms at 2-weeks post-trauma.

These observations, coupled with substantial variation in the relative strength of the mediating pathways across predictors, raises the possibility of diverse and potentially complex underlying biological and psychological processes that remain to be elucidated in more in-depth analyses of the rich and evolving AURORA database to find new targets for intervention and new tools for risk-based stratification following trauma exposure.