Leprosy Mailing List – June 23, 2015
Ref.: (LML) Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs)
From: Eric Lee Wan, Maryland, USA
Dear Dr. Schreuder,
With much interest I follow the discussion by Dr. Joel Almeida (LML, 22-06-2015) about disability adjusted life years (DALYs). As a young researcher looking at nerve surgery in Hansen’s, I am always fascinated by the utility of disability adjusted life years (DALYs), and other measures of disease burden. I have once used DALY calculations to justify medical aid for those suffering from Hansen’s in Ecuador. For DALY calculation, we used the methods of McCord to obtain DALY averted (1). We also estimated discounted life expectancy at any given age for Ecuador using methods by Murray (2), a 3% discount, and standard life expectancies for Ecuador from the World Health Organization Global Health Observatory Data Repository. To determine DALY averted for individual patients due to specific interventions, we determined disease severity using the American Society of Anaesthesiologists Physical Status Classification System (3) as well as recommendations proposed by Tinker (4).
I would like to ask, for myself and others interested in learning more: Could you recommend a good, standardized resource for DALY calculation for Hansen’s??? Additionally, without getting into much theoretical debate, would you suggest also looking at Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) in Hansen’s???
Thank you for your attention and time,
Eric
Eric Lee Wan, BS
USA: +1 (240) 899 1181
Ecuador: +593 098-877-5430
Colombia: +57 (313) 780-6653
Citations:
1. McCord C, Chowdhury Q (2003) A cost effective small hospital in Bangladesh: what it can mean for emergency obstetric care. Int J Gynaecol Obstet 81:83–92.
2. Murray CJ (1994) Quantifying the burden of disease: the technical basis for disability-adjusted life years. Bull World Health Organ 72:429–45.
3. American Society of Anesthesiologists ASA Physical Status Classification System. http://www.asahq.org/For-Members/Clinical-Information/ASA-Physical-Status-Classification-System.aspx. Accessed 6 Feb 2014
4. Tinker JH, Miles RR, Newland MC, et al. (2006) Recommendations and Guidelines for Preoperative Evaluation of the Surgical Patient with Emphasis on the Cardiac Patient for Non-cardiac Surgery. 1–82.
LML - S Deepak, B Naafs, S Noto and P Schreuder
LML blog link: http://leprosymailinglist.blogspot.it/
Contact: Dr Pieter Schreuder << editorlml@gmail.com
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