Dear editor
For clarification, we undertook bottom-up costing using individual participant data from the Low Prevalence Disorders Study in our costing study.Citation1 We did not use the data reported in the study by Carr et alCitation2 as asserted by Chong et al.Citation3 Chong et al have thus misunderstood and thus misrepresented our methodology in both their systematic reviewCitation4 and their response to our letter.Citation5
Disclosure
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this communication.
Authors’ reply
Huey Yi ChongNathorn ChaiyakunaprukCorrespondence: Nathorn Chaiyakunapruk School of Pharmacy, Monash University Malaysia, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, 46150 Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia, Email [email protected]Dear editor
We thank Dr Neil and Professor Carr for their clarification on the data source used in their study.Citation1 In this regard, we would like to highlight one of the most common challenges when conducting any systematic review, for example economic burden of schizophrenia in this case – the marked diversity in reporting among the included studies, which increases the likelihood of any potential misinterpretation. In convergence with a number of published systematic reviews of economic burden studies,Citation2–Citation5 there has been a consistent call for a more explicit reporting in various aspects of an economic burden study, thus readability and transparency can be enhanced. However, a standardized guide/checklist for conducting and reporting economic burden is yet to be available. On the final note, we strongly urge for the development of such a guidance document to improve the quality and clarity of an economic burden study.
Disclosure
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this communication.
References
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