This result is common in cost of illness studies in other areas of treatment, as incidence-based approaches have more stringent requirements regarding the information needed to carry out the analysis; indeed, incidence-based studies require life-expectancy and cost estimates incurred throughout the natural course of the disease.
A population of 25 000 or greater was required to estimate life expectancy with SE of 1 year or less using adjusted Chiang II (a composite of Chiang II and Silcocks methods).
Table 2 summarises the population sizes required to generate life expectancy estimates with SEs of 1, 2 or 3 years by varying degrees of data aggregation for NSW LGA data.
Patients were also required to have life expectancy ⩾12 weeks, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status ⩾2, adequate haematopoietic (absolute neutrophil count ⩾1.5 × 10 l−1; platelets ⩾100 × 10 l−1), hepatic (bilirubin ⩽1.5 × upper normal limit (ULN), aspartate transaminase/alanine transaminase ⩽2.5 °C ULN) and renal (creatinine ⩾1.5 × ULN) function.
Service providers require estimates of life expectancy to project the number of people with HIV who will need treatment and the future costs of providing antiretroviral therapy.
Patients with ST-segment elevation, legal incapacity, sepsis, shock, lung neoplasms, terminal kidney failure requiring dialysis and life expectancy of less than 6 months were excluded.
The management of elderly is even more delicate in cancer patients because such patients have unique issues that require evaluation of life expectancy, functional status, comorbidities and risk of treatment-related morbidity [ 2].
Most patients with neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (NLUTD) require life-long care to maintain their quality of life (QoL) and to maximise life expectancy.
Patients were required to have a life expectancy of 3 months or longer, and no evidence of infection.
Patients were also required to have a life expectancy of at least 12 weeks and a Eastern Co-operative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1.
