Melina Dritsaki

University of Western Macedonia | UOWM · Department of Economics

Aims The aim of this trial was to assess the cost-effectiveness of a soft bandage and immediate discharge, compared with rigid immobilization, in children aged four to 15 years with a torus fracture of the distal radius. Methods A within-trial economic evaluation was conducted from the UK NHS and personal social services (PSS) perspective, as well...

Migration is primarily propelled by economic and security considerations. As of 2021, the European Union (EU) housed 23.7 million non-EU citizens, emphasizing the crucial need to evaluate the economic ramifications of migration within the EU. This research seeks to scrutinize the impact of migration on economic development and unemployment across t...

Aims The primary aim of this study was to report the radiological outcomes of patients with a dorsally displaced distal radius fracture who were randomized to a moulded cast or surgical fixation with wires following manipulation and closed reduction of their fracture. The secondary aim was to correlate radiological outcomes with patient-reported ou...

This paper examines the long-run relationship between innovation and macroeconomic and environmental factors in the EU during the period 1990–2020. In the paper, the patents are used as a proxy of the innovation index. The market openness, per capita GDP, foreign direct investment, and oil prices are used as proxies for macroeconomic factors wherea...

The comparison between models and their predictions has been a big topic in the literature in recent years. There are two main methods used to compare the prediction quality; the average square error and the distance in time. In order to evaluate the forecast performance, as well as order the forecasts, researchers have developed several measures o...

Lay Summary Every year in the UK, around 10 000 children need to have operations to mend injuries to the bed of their fingernails. Currently, most children have their fingernail placed back on the injured nail bed after the operation. The NINJA trial found that children were slightly less likely to have an infection if the nail was thrown away rath...

In academic discussions about how to achieve sustainable growth in the world, it is stated that this is not possible without spending on research and development and innovative activities so that countries can maintain their competitiveness in the global environment. The EU has defined strategies that consider innovation as a key element for stimul...

he current paper examines the relationship between per capita health care expenditures, per capita CO2 emissions, and per capita gross domestic product (GDP) in G7 countries. At the beginning, we examine the cross-sectional dependence and the slope homogeneity between the countries. Then, the second-generation unit root test is applied using the Pe...

Background Surgery for nail bed injuries in children is common. One of the key surgical decisions is whether to replace the nail plate following nail bed repair. The aim of this RCT was to assess the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of nail bed repair with fingernail replacement/substitution compared with repair without fingernail repl...

Aims: To estimate the potential cost-effectiveness of adalimumab compared with standard care alone for the treatment of early-stage Dupuytren's disease (DD) and the value of further research from an NHS perspective. Methods: We used data from the Repurposing anti-TNF for Dupuytren's disease (RIDD) randomized controlled trial of intranodular adal...

Aims: To estimate the potential cost-effectiveness of adalimumab compared with standard care alone for the treatment of early-stage Dupuytren’s disease (DD) and the value of further research from an NHS perspective. Methods: We used data from the Repurposing anti-TNF for Dupuytren’s disease (RIDD) randomized controlled trial of intranodular adalimu...

Background: People with avascular necrosis of the hip have very limited treatment options currently available to stop the progression of this disease; this often results in the need for a hip replacement. There is some weak evidence that a class of drugs called bisphosphonates may delay the course of the disease, and this trial was commissioned an...

Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a common indicator of headline inflation. CPI measures the market value of a fixed basket of goods in order to define the inflation of a country’s economy. Headline inflation is the measure of the whole inflation in an economy, which consists of all goods, such a price of consumables and energy, which are volatile and...

Background: The most common fractures in children are torus (buckle) fractures of the wrist. Controversy exists over treatment, which ranges from splint immobilisation and discharge to cast immobilisation, follow-up, and repeat imaging. This study compared pain and function in affected children offered a soft bandage and immediate discharge with t...

Background Torus (buckle) fractures of the wrist are the most common fractures in children involving the distal radius and/or ulna. It is unclear if children require rigid immobilisation and follow-up or would recover equally as well by being discharged without any immobilisation or a bandage. Given the large number of these injuries, identifying t...

The current paper aims to investigate the stability of money demand in the case of Korea. Since the economic reforms in Korea faced considerable structural changes, it was difficult to formulate a stable money demand function. The use of unit root and cointegration tests with structural breaks suggest that economic and financial deregulations have...

In this paper we examine if the use of Hamilton’s regression filter significantly modifies the cyclical components concerning unemployment in Greece compared with those using the Hodrick–Prescott double filter (HP). Hamilton suggested the use of a regression filter in order to overcome some of the drawbacks of the HP filter, which contains the pres...

Background Patients with a displaced fracture of the distal radius are frequently offered surgical fixation. Manipulation of the fracture and moulded plaster casting is an alternative treatment that avoids metal implants, but evidence of its effectiveness is lacking. Objective To compare functional outcomes, quality-of-life outcomes, complications...

Background A rotator cuff tear is a common disabling shoulder problem. Symptoms include pain, weakness, lack of mobility and sleep disturbance. Many patients require surgery to repair the tear; however, there is a high failure rate. There is a pressing need to improve the outcome of rotator cuff surgery. The use of patch augmentation to provide sup...

Background Rotator cuff-related shoulder pain is very common, but there is uncertainty regarding which modes of exercise delivery are optimal and the long-term benefits of corticosteroid injections. Objectives To assess the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of progressive exercise compared with best-practice physiotherapy advice, with...

Background Corticosteroid injections and physiotherapy exercise programmes are commonly used to treat rotator cuff disorders but the treatments' effectiveness is uncertain. We aimed to compare the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a progressive exercise programme with a single session of best practice physiotherapy advice, with or wi...

Background Segmental tibial fractures are fractures in two or more areas of the tibial diaphysis resulting in a separate intercalary segment of the bone. Surgical fixation is recommended for patients with segmental tibial fractures as non-operative treatment outcomes are poor. The most common surgical interventions are intramedullary nailing (IMN)...

Background A rotator cuff tear is a common disabling shoulder problem. Symptoms include pain, weakness, lack of mobility and sleep disturbance. Many patients require surgery to repair the tear; however, there is a high failure rate. There is a pressing need to improve the outcome of rotator cuff surgery. The use of patch augmentation to provide sup...

Background The Tight Control of psoriatic arthritis (TICOPA) trial confirmed improved clinical outcomes with a treat to target (T2T) strategy in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). This consisted of 4-weekly review and escalation of ‘step up’ therapy (single disease modifying therapy (DMARD), combination DMARDs and then biologics) based on remission criteri...

Background A rotator cuff tear is a common, disabling shoulder problem. Symptoms may include pain, weakness, lack of shoulder mobility and sleep disturbance. Many patients require surgery to repair the tear; however, there is a high failure rate. There is a need to improve the outcome of rotator cuff surgery, and the use of patch augmentation (on-l...

Background The Tight Control of psoriatic arthritis (TICOPA) trial confirmed improved clinical outcomes with a treat to target (T2T) strategy in PsA. This consisted of 4-weekly review and escalation of ‘step up’ therapy (single disease modifying therapy (DMARD), combination DMARDs and then biologics) based on remission criteria. Based on this, a T2...

Objective To appraise studies reporting on clinical effectiveness and safety of surgical meshes used to augment rotator cuff repairs (RCRs). Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane databases were searched between April 2006 and April 2020. Eligibility criteria All studies evaluating adults (≥18 years...

This paper determines endogenously the time of structural breaks in unemployment for Balkan countries-member countries of European Union-during the period 1991-2019. UsingZivotandAndrews (1992) approach and Perronand Vogelsang (1992) approach, we find that these countries experienced structural breaks in different time periods at the end of 2000 an...

Objectives Health economics analysis plans (HEAPs) currently lack consistency, with uncertainty surrounding appropriate content. We aimed to develop a list of essential items that should be included in HEAPs for economic evaluations conducted alongside randomized trials. Methods A list of potential items for inclusion was developed by examining ex...

Abstract Background: Nail bed trauma is one of the most common surgically treated paediatric hand injuries in the UK. Despite surgeons generally expressing a preference to replace the nail plate after repairing the nail bed, there is limited evidence to support this practice. We describe a statistical and health economic analysis plan (SHEAP) for t...

Aims: To compare the cost-utility of standard dressing with incisional negative-pressure wound therapy (iNPWT) in adults with closed surgical wounds associated with major trauma to the lower limbs. Methods: A within-trial economic evaluation was conducted from the UK NHS and personal social services (PSS) perspective based on data collected from...

Background Major trauma is the leading cause of death in people aged < 45 years. Patients with major trauma usually have lower-limb fractures. Surgery to fix the fractures is complicated and the risk of infection may be as high as 27%. The type of dressing applied after surgery could potentially reduce the risk of infection. Objectives To assess t...

Aims Torus fractures are the most common childhood fracture, accounting for 500,000 UK emergency attendances per year. UK treatment varies widely due to lack of scientific evidence. This is the protocol for a randomized controlled equivalence trial of ‘the offer of a soft bandage and immediate discharge’ versus ‘rigid immobilization and follow-up a...

Aims Torus fractures of the distal radius are the most common fractures in children. The NICE non-complex fracture guidelines recently concluded that bandaging was probably the optimal treatment for these injuries. However, across the UK current treatment varies widely due to a lack of evidence underpinning the guidelines. The Forearm Fracture Reco...

Aims Describe a statistical and economic analysis plan for the Distal Radius Acute Fracture Fixation Trial 2 (DRAFFT2) randomized controlled trial. Methods DRAFFT2 is a multicentre, parallel, two-arm randomized controlled trial. It compares surgical fixation with K-wires versus plaster cast in adult patients who have sustained a dorsally displaced...

Aims Describe a statistical and economic analysis plan for the Distal Radius Acute Fracture Fixation Trial 2 (DRAFFT2) randomized controlled trial. Methods DRAFFT2 is a multicentre, parallel, two-arm randomized controlled trial. It compares surgical fixation with K-wires versus plaster cast in adult patients who have sustained a dorsally displaced...

Aims Torus fractures are the most common childhood fracture, accounting for 500,000 UK emergency attendances per year. UK treatment varies widely due to lack of scientific evidence. This is the protocol for a randomized controlled equivalence trial of ‘the offer of a soft bandage and immediate discharge’ versus ‘rigid immobilization and follow-up a...

Aims Torus fractures of the distal radius are the most common fractures in children. The NICE non-complex fracture guidelines recently concluded that bandaging was probably the optimal treatment for these injuries. However, across the UK current treatment varies widely due to a lack of evidence underpinning the guidelines. The Forearm Fracture Reco...

In the past few decades, there are lot of discussions around global warming and climate change primarily due to the increased CO2 emissions generated by the consumption of fossil fuels, such as oil and natural gas. After an enormous effort, the EU-28 managed to reduce CO2 emissions in 2014 by 25.7% comparing to 1990 (Kyoto Protocol). This effort sh...

Background Optimising techniques to wean patients from invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) remains a key goal of intensive care practice. The use of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) as a weaning strategy (transitioning patients who are difficult to wean to early NIV) may reduce mortality, ventilator-associated pneumonia and intensive care unit (ICU...

Importance Following surgery to treat major trauma–related fractures, deep wound infection rates are high. It is not known if negative pressure wound therapy can reduce infection rates in this setting. Objective To assess outcomes in patients who have incisions resulting from surgery for lower limb fractures related to major trauma and were treate...

The stability of money demand is fundamental in ensuring a county’s effective monetary policy and it is being threatened when major shocks are taking place. The current paper aims to examine the factors that influence money demand in Italy for the period 1960-2017. Auto Regressive Distributed Lags (ARDL) technique and Error correction model (ECM) w...

Introduction: Hip fracture is a serious injury in adults, especially those aged over 60 years. The most common type of hip fracture (displaced intracapsular) is treated for the majority of patients with a partial hip replacement (hemiarthroplasty). The hemiarthroplasty implant can be fixed to the bone with or without bone cement. Cement is the cur...

Introduction Trauma to the nail bed is the most common surgically treated paediatric hand injury. The majority of surgeons replace the nail plate after repairing the nail bed despite a lack of evidence to do so. Replacing the nail plate may be associated with increased postoperative infection. We will investigate the impact of replacing or discardi...

Background Invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) is a life-saving intervention. Following resolution of the condition that necessitated IMV, a spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) is used to determine patient readiness for IMV discontinuation. In patients who fail one or more SBTs, there is uncertainty as to the optimum management strategy. Objective...

Background Fractures of the distal femur are an increasingly common injury; the optimal management of these injuries remains controversial. The two interventions used in UK practice are intramedullary fixation, with a locked retrograde nail, and extramedullary fixation, with a fixed angle plate. Objectives This study assessed the feasibility of a...

Objectives This feasibility study and process evaluation assessed the likely success of a definitive trial of intramedullary fixation with locked retrograde nails versus extramedullary fixation with fixed angle plates for fractures of the distal femur. Design & setting A multicentre, parallel, two-arm, randomised controlled feasibility study with...

Introduction: Optimal management of distal radius fractures in adults remains controversial. Previous evidence and current clinical guidelines tell us that, if a closed reduction of a dorsally displaced fracture is possible, Kirschner wires (K-wires) are the preferred form of surgical fixation. However, the question remains whether there is any ne...

Dupuytren’s disease (DD) is a common fibroproliferative condition of the palmar and digital fascia of the hand; however, there is currently no approved treatment for early stage DD. The objective of this paper is to describe the methods applied to assess the cost-effectiveness of adalimumab injections compared to usual care for controlling the prog...

Background: A rotator cuff tear is a common disabling shoulder problem. Symptoms include pain, weakness, lack of shoulder mobility and sleep disturbance. Many patients require surgery to repair the tear; however, there is a high failure rate. There is a pressing need to improve the outcome of rotator cuff surgery and the use of patch augmentation...

Dupuytren’s disease (DD) is a common fibroproliferative condition of the palmar and digital fascia of the hand; however, there is currently no approved treatment for early stage DD. The objective of this paper is to describe the methods applied to assess the cost-effectiveness of adalimumab injections compared to placebo for controlling the progres...

Background Shoulder pain is a common problem in the general population and is responsible for prolonged periods of disability, loss of productivity, absence from work and inability to carry out household activities. Rotator cuff problems account for up to 70% of shoulder pain problems and are the third most prevalent musculoskeletal disorder after...

ABSTRACT Background: Since the introduction of digital health technologies in National Health Service (NHS), health professionals are starting to use email, text, and other digital methods to consult with their patients in a timely manner. There is lack of evidence regarding the economic impact of digital consulting in the United Kingdom (UK) NHS....

Aims: The aim of this study was to compare the cost-effectiveness of intramedullary nail fixation and 'locking' plate fixation in the treatment of extra-articular fractures of the distal tibia. Patients and methods: An economic evaluation was conducted from the perspective of the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS) and personal social s...

Background The best treatment for fractures of the distal tibia remains controversial. Most of these fractures require surgical fixation, but the outcomes are unpredictable and complications are common. Objectives To assess disability, quality of life, complications and resource use in patients treated with intramedullary (IM) nail fixation versus...

Introduction: Deep wound infection is a catastrophic complication after hip fracture surgery. However, current understanding of infection rates in this population is limited. Many technologies such as incisional negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT) show promise in reducing the rate of infection. This trial is a feasibility study looking to estab...

( BJOG . 2017;124:929–934) In the United Kingdom, all women are offered labor induction between 40 and 41 weeks gestation with goal of decreasing the risk of stillbirth. However, this risk may occur earlier in women 35 years and older so it may be beneficial to offer labor induction sooner. However, induction at an earlier gestational age might inc...

Background Young people (aged 16–24 years) with long-term health conditions tend to disengage from health services, resulting in poor health outcomes. They are prolific users of digital communications. Innovative UK NHS clinicians use digital communication with these young people. The NHS plans to use digital communication with patients more widely...

Background Dupuytren’s disease (DD) is a common and progressive, fibroproliferative disorder of the palmar and digital fascia of the hand. Various treatments have been recommended for advanced disease or to retard progression of early disease and to prevent deterioration of the finger contracture and quality of life. Recent studies have tried to ev...