{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.034227567067530065, 'fraction_numerical': 0.009250693802035153, 'mean_word_length': 5.597560975609756, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
The economic impact of intermittent high-dose intravenous versus oral corticosteroid treatment of juvenile dermatomyositis.

OBJECTIVE
To perform a cost-identification and cost-effectiveness analysis comparing oral corticosteroids (OCS) with high-dose intermittent intravenous corticosteroid (IVCS) regimens in the treatment of juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM).


METHODS
Children previously diagnosed and treated for JDM (without myositis-specific or myositis-associated autoantibodies) at a single medical center by a single provider were identified. Two treatment protocols were compared: OCS and IVCS. Data on initial disease severity, time to remission, resource use, and costs generated were collected from patient records. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICE) were constructed.


RESULTS
Patients treated with IVCS achieved median remission 2 years earlier at median increased cost of $13,736. The ICE ratio comparing IVCS to OCS is $6,868 per year of disease avoided.


CONCLUSION
This study suggests that, although IVCS treatments are costly, they are cost-effective.