Disease management patient perspectives

Caekelbergh et al. calculated the direct costs of HIV/AIDS in Belgium from the health care pay perspective. On the basis of 150 patients, they determined the costs of antiretrovirals, outpatient and inpatient resource use for the year 2005. They realize that the costs strongly depend on the CD4- - T-cell count, that is, the annual costs per patient are on average about US 2,900 for a patient with a CD4+ T-cell count >500, US 3,200 (CD4 351-500), US 8,650 (CD4 210-350), US 16,600 (CD4 101-200), US 31,300 (CD4 51-100), and US 49,400 (CD4 0-50), respectively. Consequently, the early detection of an HIV-infection as well as proper management that prohibits disease transition is of high cost-importance. 

Many patients today are using alternative therapies to manage their diseases, and it is difficult for health care practitioners to keep up with this evolving field. Moreover, especially in the area of dietary supplements, the science behind the perceived benefits is lacking. This book is presented as an effort to provide a scientific perspective on the use of phytopharmaceuticals in battling cancer. 

Problems within diabetes treatment can usually be divided into two phases, namely (i) acute and short-term treatment of patients and related to well-being and near-perfect physical abilities for professional and leisure activities, most often related to good metabolic control, (ii) On the other hand, the long-term perspective is preventive treatment of complications, both microvascular and vascular complications. Under special situations such as pregnancy, treatment is critical. A number of co-morbid situations are important heart disease (although not always specifically related to diabetes), obesity (an increasingly important problem), and lipid management (very common). Since 1991, we have seen a rapid development in the treatment of one important issue, namely treatment of erectile dysfunction, which is even more important in diabetic than in nondiabetic individuals. 

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