Tales from opposite corners of the world: Emergency department opt-out testing: A cost-effective route to earlier HIV and Hepatitis diagnosis in Australia and Germany
Emergency department opt-out testing: A cost-effective route to earlier HIV and Hepatitis diagnosis in Australia and Germany.
Australia and Germany have both made progress toward HIV and viral hepatitis elimination targets, yet a significant share of infections remains undiagnosed.
• HBV: 31% undiagnosed in Australia (3); 80% in Germany (4)
• HCV: 16% undiagnosed in Australia (5); 63% in Germany (6)
• HIV: around 8% undiagnosed in both countries (7,8)
These levels of undiagnosed infection indicate that standard blood-borne virus (BBV) testing approaches are not sufficient to meet public health goals.
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Estimating the health impact and cost-effectiveness of emergency department opt-out testing for blood-borne viruses in Germany
In Germany, an estimated 8,200 individuals were living with undiagnosed HIV in 2023. Late diagnosis (CD4<350) was 52% and 33% of individuals with HIV are diagnosed with advanced disease (1) . Despite progress toward the WHO viral hepatitis elimination goals, a large proportion of infections remain undiagnosed: 85% for hepatitis B (HBV) and 60% for Read More >
Assessing the potential health and economic benefits of improved management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in England, Germany, Canada, and Japan.
We are pleased to announce the publication of our research on the value of improved management for COPD in the International Journal of COPD. In this study, we used established modelling techniques to estimate the potential health and economic benefit of theoretical policy scenarios for two interventions aimed at reducing hospitalisations due to severe exacerbation: Read More >
Looking at the cost implications of using PCR-based respiratory panel assays for patients admitted to hospital with pneumonia in the UK, France and Spain
Our paper on the cost of using PCR-based respiratory panel assays for patients with pneumonia was published this week in BMC Pulmonary Medicine. This work, funded by the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI), compared the cost of using standard diagnostic tests with the cost of using either an upper respiratory pathogen PCR-based panel test, a lower Read More >
Research in Dravet syndrome and cervical cancer screening presented at international conferences
Aquarius has recently presented posters at international conferences (ISPOR, a conference for the leading professional society for health economics and outcomes research and EUROGIN, an international multidisciplinary HPV conference), exploring the impact of improving healthcare for two very different conditions: Dravet syndrome (rare debilitating epilepsy) and cervical cancer. Read More >
Evaluating multi-bug point-of-care tests for diagnosing STIs
New point-of-care (POC) tests are currently being developed which can be used in clinic to simultaneously test for multiple sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In work now published online in BMJ Open, we developed a model to compare three possible strategies for POC STI testing with the current practice of microscopy and lab-based testing. The three Read More >
The NHS wastes more than £7 billion because it’s slow to use new diagnostics
An article authored by Aquarius was published today on the British In Vitro Diagnostics Association (BIVDA) website. The article commissioned jointly by BIVDA and Innovate UK suggests that the NHS could save over £6.9 billion in 5 years by making better use of diagnostic tests already on the market. These savings could have a huge Read More >
Assessing the impact of point-of-care testing for influenza and RSV in children admitted to hospital
The winter flu season brings added pressure to emergency and acute hospital services. In the UK, children and infants account for more than a third of flu related hospital admissions since flu and respiratory syncytial viruses (RSV) can be particularly severe in children, particularly those with existing conditions such as asthma. In our recent paper Read More >
Aquarius supports the Royal Marsden as they assess an innovative device for breast cancer surgery
In the latest episode of the BBC’s show, “Trust me, I’m a Doctor”, an innovative new product called Magseed is being trialled to improve surgery for women with breast cancer. A tiny magnetic seed is being used to transform how cancerous tissue is localised so that it can be removed, rather than using traditional guide Read More >
Evaluating the use AMR POCT in treatment of gonorrhoea
Aquarius Population Health recently worked with the Applied Diagnostic Research & Evaluation Unit (ADREU) at St. Georges, University of London, to assess the cost-effectiveness of six hypothetical strategies for using antimicrobial resistance point-of-care testing to guide the treatment of gonorrhoea. Our findings were presented at the STI & HIV World Congress in Rio de Janeiro, Read More >