MedTech-related health technology assessments from NIHR in December 2021

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funds valuable independent research for health and social care decision-makers in England. Reports from the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme are published in the NIHR HTA Journal and inform NICE guidance.

In December 2021, two MedTech-related assessments were published in the NIHR HTA Journal:

• Improving continence in children and young people with neurodisability, an assessment based on a systematic review and survey. Treatment approaches may include pharmacotherapy, surgical interventions (e.g., intravesical electrical stimulation, sacral neuromodulation), assistive technologies, and behavioral interventions. Currently, there is uncertainty about which interventions are effective. The study's objective was to summarise the available evidence on and current practice for improving continence in children and young people with neurodisability. It was concluded that there is a lack of good-quality evidence for many of the interventions currently in use and no evidence about the experiences of children and young people with non-spinal-cord-related pathology. There was also no evidence of the cost-effectiveness of any of the interventions;
• Primary trabeculectomy versus primary glaucoma eye drops for newly diagnosed advanced glaucoma, based on randomized controlled trial (TAGS). The objectives were to compare primary medical management with primary surgical treatment (augmented trabeculectomy) in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma presenting with advanced disease in terms of health-related quality of life, clinical effectiveness, safety, and cost-effectiveness. This trial found no evidence of a difference in visual health-related quality of life between trabeculectomy or glaucoma drops at 24 months;

See the full details here.

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