Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33663491›Full record

Trial reportBMC health services research2021

Cost of childhood acute otitis media in primary care in the Netherlands: economic analysis alongside a cluster randomised controlled trial.

Rick T van Uum, Roderick P Venekamp, Clémence T B Pasmans, G Ardine de Wit, Alies Sjoukes, Alma C van der Pol, Roger A M J Damoiseaux, Anne G M Schilder

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC health services research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 12% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
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  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.

Rick T van UumJulius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, University Utrecht, P.O. Box 85500, 3508, GA, Utrecht, The Netherlands. R.T.vanUum-2@umcutrecht.nl.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9415-4286
Roderick P VenekampJulius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, University Utrecht, P.O. Box 85500, 3508, GA, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Clémence T B PasmansJulius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, University Utrecht, P.O. Box 85500, 3508, GA, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
G Ardine de WitJulius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, University Utrecht, P.O. Box 85500, 3508, GA, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Alies SjoukesJulius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, University Utrecht, P.O. Box 85500, 3508, GA, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Alma C van der PolJulius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, University Utrecht, P.O. Box 85500, 3508, GA, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Roger A M J DamoiseauxJulius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, University Utrecht, P.O. Box 85500, 3508, GA, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Anne G M SchilderJulius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, University Utrecht, P.O. Box 85500, 3508, GA, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Utrecht University · NL

Funding

ZonMw 839110005
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAcute otitis media (AOM) is among the most common paediatric conditions managed in primary care. Most recent estimates of the cost of AOM date from a decade ago and lack a full societal perspective. We therefore explored the societal cost of childhood AOM in the Netherlands within the setting of a trial comparing the effectiveness of an intervention aimed at educating general practitioners (GPs) about pain management in AOM compared to usual care.

methodsEconomic analysis alongside a cluster randomised controlled trial conducted between February 2015 and May 2018 in 37 practices (94 GPs). In total, 224 children with AOM were included of which 223 (99%) completed the trial (intervention: n = 94; control: n = 129). The cost of AOM due to health care costs, patient and family costs, and productivity losses by parent caregivers were retrieved from study diaries and primary care electronic health records, during 28-day follow-up. We calculated mean cost (€ and $) per AOM episode per patient with standard deviations (SD, in €) regardless of study group assignment because there was no clinical effect of the trial intervention. In sensitivity analysis, we calculated cost in the intervention and usual care group, after exclusion of extreme outliers.

resultsMean total AOM cost per patient were €565.93 or $638.78 (SD €1071.01); nearly 90% of these costs were due to productivity losses experienced by parents. After exclusion of outliers, AOM cost was €526.70 or $594.50 (SD €987.96) and similar in the intervention and usual care groups: €516.10 or $582.53 (SD €949.69) and €534.55 or $603.36 (SD €920.55) respectively.

conclusionsAt €566 or $639 per episode, societal cost of AOM is higher than previously known and mainly driven by productivity losses by children's parents. Considering its high incidence, AOM poses a significant economic burden that extends beyond direct medical costs.

trial registrationNetherlands Trial Register no. NTR4920: http://www.trialregister.nl/trialreg/admin/rctview.asp?TC=4920 .

Indexed as

Otitis MediaChildCost-Benefit AnalysisHealth Care CostsHumansNetherlandsPrimary Health CareAcute otitis mediaHealthcare resources usePain managementSocietal cost of AOM

Identifiers

PMID33663491
PMCPMC7931516
OpenAlexW3134013588

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.