The prevalence of Black/African American individuals in concussion literature: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Comprising approximately 13.6% of the United States population, Black/African American individuals are overrepresented in sports associated with a high risk of concussion. However, there has been a notable absence of systematic reviews examining whether concussion literature accurately reflects the participation and experiences of Black/African American individuals. Therefore, this study aims to systematically review the prevalence of Black/African American individuals compared to White individuals diagnosed with concussions in the literature. Methods: A systematic search was performed across four electronic databases: PubMed, MEDLINE (Ovid), Scopus and Web of Science. Articles were searched from inception to January 5, 2022. Prevalence data were extracted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. A meta-analysis of proportions was conducted within hospital records and national survey data. Results: Among 447 identified studies, 11 were included, representing 1,839,901 individuals diagnosed with a concussion, with 73.6% identifying as White and 12.5% identifying as Black/African American. The mean proportion of Black/African American diagnosed with a concussion in hospital records (13.9%; 95% CI [12.8, 15.1]) exceeded that in national surveys (6.4%; 95% CI [3.5, 11.3]) but lower than sports-centered studies (16%). Discussion: These findings underscore the need to address racial disparities in healthcare within the broader context of social determinants of health and systemic inequities. By identifying gaps in the current research, this study lays the foundation for future investigation aimed at elucidating and addressing healthcare disparities.

Health-related quality of life among adolescents and young adults with mood and anxiety concerns.

OBJECTIVES: To characterize health related quality of life (HRQOL) for Canadians aged 16 to 25 (adolescents and young adults, AYAs) seeking care for mood and anxiety concerns at the First Episode Mood and Anxiety Program, in London, Ontario and to identify factors associated with HRQOL in this population. METHODS: AYAs completed demographic, psychometric, and HRQOL questionnaires. We calculated 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) scores standardized to Canadian and US population norms. We computed Short Form 6 Dimension (SF-6D) utilities conducting multivariable linear regression analysis, adjusting for age, sex, ethnoracial minority status, parental marital/cohabitation status, parental education, the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI-R), Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale Self-Report (MADRS-S), Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS), and a modified Inventory of College Students' Recent Life Experiences (ICSRLE-M). RESULTS: Amongst 182 AYAs who completed questionnaires, mean physical component summary (PCS), mental component summary (MCS) and SF-6D utility scores were low, 43.8 (SD = 16.6), 19.0 (SD = 11.9) and .576 (SD = .074), respectively. Maternal post-secondary education, depression (MADRS-S) and functional impairment (SDS) were significantly associated with SF-6D utility. CONCLUSION: This cohort of mental healthcare-seeking AYAs had significantly impaired psychometric and utility-based measures of quality of life, underscoring the importance of timely access to healthcare services for this population.

Malnutrition risk, outcomes, and costs among older adults undergoing elective surgical procedures: A retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: We examine here the association between malnutrition risk and adverse health outcomes among older adult patients undergoing elective surgical procedures. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study using linked clinical and administrative databases. Malnutrition risk was assessed prior to surgery, defined by unintentional weight loss and decreased food intake. We performed a logistic regression analysis of the primary outcome, a composite adverse outcome measure, including death, bleeding, pneumonia, and other surgical complications. We conducted Fine-Gray proportional hazard regression analysis of hospital length of stay (LOS). We performed a generalized linear regression analysis of in-hospital cost data. All regression analyses controlled for frailty, age, sex, surgical category, and comorbidities. RESULTS: Of a total of 3457 older adult elective surgical patients (65-102 years), 310 (9.0%) screened positive for malnutrition risk. In multivariable regression analyses, malnutrition risk was associated with an increased risk of the composite adverse outcome (odds ratio [OR] = 1.74; 95% CI = 1.25-2.39), higher hospitalization costs (relative cost = 1.84; 95% CI = 1.59-2.13), and a decreased risk of discharge from the hospital (hazard ratio = 0.67; 95% CI = 0.59-0.77) compared with those who screened negative. CONCLUSION: Older adult patients with malnutrition risk were at an increased risk of adverse surgical outcomes, had longer LOS in the hospital, and incurred higher costs of care. It is important to screen for malnutrition risk and refer older adults for dietetic consults prior to elective surgery.

Performance of administrative database frailty instruments in predicting clinical outcomes and cost for patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation: a historical cohort study.

PURPOSE: Frailty instruments may improve prognostic estimates for patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Few studies have evaluated and compared the performance of administrative database frailty instruments for patients undergoing TAVI. This study aimed to examine the performance of administrative database frailty instruments in predicting clinical outcomes and costs in patients who underwent TAVI. METHODS: We conducted a historical cohort study of 3,848 patients aged 66 yr or older who underwent a TAVI procedure in Ontario, Canada from 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2018. We used the Johns Hopkins Adjusted Clinical Group (ACG) frailty indicator and the Hospital Frailty Risk Score (HFRS) to assign frailty status. Outcomes of interest were in-hospital mortality, one-year mortality, rehospitalization, and healthcare costs. We compared the performance of the two frailty instruments with that of a reference model that adjusted baseline covariates and procedural characteristics. Accuracy measures included c-statistics, Akaike information criterion (AIC), Bayesian information criterion (BIC), integrated discrimination improvement (IDI), net reclassification index (NRI), bias, and accuracy of cost estimates. RESULTS: A total of 863 patients (22.4%) were identified as frail using the Johns Hopkins ACG frailty indicator and 865 (22.5%) were identified as frail using the HFRS. Although agreement between the frailty instruments was fair (Kappa statistic = 0.322), each instrument classified different subgroups as frail. Both the Johns Hopkins ACG frailty indicator (rate ratio [RR], 1.13; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06 to 1.20) and the HFRS (RR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.21) were significantly associated with increased one-year costs. Compared with the reference model, both the Johns Hopkins ACG frailty indicator and HFRS significantly improved NRI for one-year mortality (Johns Hopkins ACG frailty indicator: NRI, 0.160; P < 0.001; HFRS: NRI, 0.146; P = 0.001) and rehospitalization (Johns Hopkins ACG frailty indicator: NRI, 0.201; P < 0.001; HFRS: NRI, 0.141; P = 0.001). These improvements in NRI largely resulted from classification improvement among those who did not experience the event. With one-year mortality, there was a significant improvement in IDI (IDI, 0.003; P < 0.001) with the Johns Hopkins ACG frailty indicator. This improvement in performance resulted from an increase in the mean probability of the event among those with the event. CONCLUSION: Preoperative frailty assessment may add some predictive value for TAVI outcomes. Use of administrative database frailty instruments may provide small but significant improvements in case-mix adjustment when profiling hospitals for certain outcomes.

RéSUMé: OBJECTIF: L'utilisation d'indicateur de fragilité pourrait améliorer l'évaluation pronostique des patients bénéficiant d'un remplacement valvulaire aortique par voie percutanée (procédure TAVI). Peu d'études ont évalué et comparé la performance des instruments d'évaluation de la fragilité développés à partir de données administratives chez les patients bénéficiant d'un TAVI. Nous avions pour objectif d'examiner la performance des instruments d'évaluation de la fragilité développés à partir de données administratives dans la prédiction des issues cliniques et des coûts chez les patients ayant bénéficié d'un TAVI. MéTHODE: Nous avons réalisé une étude de cohorte historique auprès de 3848 patients âgés de 66 ans ou plus qui ont bénéficié d'une procédure TAVI en Ontario, Canada, du 1er avril 2012 au 31 mars 2018. Nous avons utilisé l'indicateur de fragilité ACG (Adjusted Clinical Group) de Johns Hopkins et le score de risque de fragilité à l'hôpital (HFRS) pour définir la fragilité. Les critères d'évaluation étaient la mortalité hospitalière, la mortalité à un an, la réhospitalisation et les coûts des soins de santé. Nous avons comparé la performance des deux instruments d'évaluation de la fragilité à celle d'un modèle de référence qui ajustait les covariables de base et les caractéristiques procédurales. Les mesures d'exactitude comprenaient l'analyse statistique c, le critère d'information d'Akaike (AIC), le critère d'information bayésien (BIC), l'amélioration de la discrimination intégrée (IDI), l'indice NRI (net reclassification index), le biais et l'exactitude des estimations de coûts. RéSULTATS: Au total, 863 patients (22,4 %) ont été identifiés comme fragiles à l'aide de l'indicateur de fragilité ACG de Johns Hopkins, et 865 (22,5 %) ont été identifiés comme fragiles à l'aide du HFRS. Bien que l'agrément entre les instruments d'évaluation de la fragilité ait été acceptable (statistique de Kappa = 0,322), chaque instrument a classé des sous-groupes différents comme étant fragiles. L'indicateur de fragilité ACG de Johns Hopkins (rapport de taux [RR], 1,13; intervalle de confiance à 95 % [IC], 1,06 à 1,20) et le HFRS (RR, 1,14; IC 95 %, 1,07 à 1,21) étaient associés de façon significative à une augmentation des coûts sur un an. Par rapport au modèle de référence, l'indicateur de fragilité ACG de Johns Hopkins améliorent de façon significative le NRI pour la mortalité (l'indicateur de fragilité ACG de Johns Hopkins: NRI, 0.160; P < 0.001; HFRS: NRI, 0.146; P = 0.001) et la réhospitalisation (l'indicateur de fragilité ACG: NRI, 0.201; P < 0.001; HFRS: NRI, 0.141; P = 0.001) à un an. Ces améliorations du NRI résultent en grande partie de l'amélioration de la classification chez ceux qui n'ont pas bénéficié d'un TAVI. En ce qui a trait à la mortalité à un an, il y a eu une amélioration significative de l'IDI (IDI, 0,003; P < 0,001) avec l'indicateur de fragilité ACG de Johns Hopkins. Cette amélioration de la performance résultait d'une augmentation de la probabilité moyenne de TAVI chez les personnes ayant vécu l'événement. CONCLUSION: L'évaluation préopératoire de la fragilité peut ajouter une certaine valeur prédictive aux issues cliniques suivant une procédure de TAVI. L'utilisation d'instruments d'évaluation de la fragilité développés à partir de données administratives peut apporter des améliorations mineures mais significatives pour l'ajustement de risque lors de l'évaluation des hôpitaux en fonction de certaines issues cliniques.

Are COVID-19 models blind to the social determinants of health? A systematic review protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Infectious disease models are important tools to inform public health policy decisions. These models are primarily based on an average population approach and often ignore the role of social determinants in predicting the course of a pandemic and the impact of policy interventions. Ignoring social determinants in models may cause or exacerbate inequalities. This limitation has not been previously explored in the context of the current pandemic, where COVID-19 has been found to disproportionately affect marginalised racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups. Therefore, our primary goal is to identify the extent to which COVID-19 models incorporate the social determinants of health in predicting outcomes of the pandemic. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will search MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and Web of Science databases from December 2019 to August 2020. We will assess all infectious disease modelling studies for inclusion of social factors that meet the following criteria: (a) focused on human spread of SARS-CoV-2; (b) modelling studies; (c) interventional or non-interventional studies; and (d) focused on one of the following outcomes: COVID-19-related outcomes (eg, cases, deaths), non-COVID-19-related outcomes (ie, impacts of the pandemic or control policies on other health conditions or health services), or impact of the pandemic or control policies on economic outcomes. Data will only be extracted from models incorporating social factors. We will report the percentage of models that considered social factors, indicate which social factors were considered, and describe how social factors were incorporated into the conceptualisation and implementation of the infectious disease models. The extracted data will also be used to create a narrative synthesis of the results. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval is not required as only secondary data will be collected. The results of this systematic review will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication and conference proceedings. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42020207706.

Measurement and prognosis of frail patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Our objectives were to review the literature to identify frailty instruments in use for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) recipients and synthesise prognostic data from these studies, in order to inform clinical management of frail patients undergoing TAVI. METHODS: We systematically reviewed the literature published in 2006 or later. We included studies of patients with aortic stenosis, diagnosed as frail, who underwent a TAVI procedure that reported mortality or clinical outcomes. We categorised the frailty instruments and reported on the prevalence of frailty in each study. We summarised the frequency of clinical outcomes and pooled outcomes from multiple studies. We explored heterogeneity and performed subgroup analysis, where possible. We also used Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) to assess the overall certainty of the estimates. RESULTS: Of 49 included studies, 21 used single-dimension measures to assess frailty, 3 used administrative data-based measures, and 25 used multidimensional measures. Prevalence of frailty ranged from 5.67% to 90.07%. Albumin was the most commonly used single-dimension frailty measure and the Fried or modified Fried phenotype were the most commonly used multidimensional measures. Meta-analyses of studies that used either the Fried or modified Fried phenotype showed a 30-day mortality of 7.86% (95% CI 5.20% to 11.70%) and a 1-year mortality of 26.91% (95% CI 21.50% to 33.11%). The GRADE system suggests very low certainty of the respective estimates. CONCLUSIONS: Frailty instruments varied across studies, leading to a wide range of frailty prevalence estimates for TAVI recipients and substantial heterogeneity. The results provide clinicians, patients and healthcare administrators, with potentially useful information on the prognosis of frail patients undergoing TAVI. This review highlights the need for standardisation of frailty measurement to promote consistency. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42018090597.

Perioperative Satisfaction and Health Economic Questionnaires in Patients Undergoing an Elective Hip and Knee Arthroplasty: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study.

Background: Early hospital discharge shifts the recovery burden toward the patient and can leave patients and their caregivers anxious about the recovery process. Postoperative home care must be broadened to include appropriate and adequate support to address recovery at home. In this prospective study, patient and caregiver perspectives on the level of preparation/satisfaction and cost associated with management of recovery in the postoperative period were evaluated. Methods: We designed this prospective study to measure patient-reported outcomes and to inform the design of a postoperative home monitoring system. Patients undergoing inpatient total hip or knee replacements were recruited from a preadmission clinic at a university hospital. Patients and caregivers completed preoperative, postoperative, and health economic questionnaires. Bivariate analyses were conducted to understand factors associated with satisfaction with care. Results: Of 239 patients and caregivers recruited, preoperative questionnaire was completed by 98.8% of patients, the postoperative follow-up questionnaire was completed by 94.2% of patients, 75% of informal caregivers completed the postoperative follow-up questionnaires, and 93.7% completed the health economic questionnaire. The postoperative satisfaction scores were higher than the preoperative needs/expectation scores for both the overall and individual subscales. Patients undergoing hip arthroplasty reported higher satisfaction scores for postoperative pain management than patients undergoing knee arthroplasty (hip arthroplasty vs. knee arthroplasty: 4.07 ± 1.11 vs. 3.37 ± 1.51; P < 0.001). Patients who underwent knee arthroplasty reported better satisfaction scores with regard to having enough information on how to manage leg stiffness at home compared to patients undergoing hip arthroplasty (knee arthroplasty vs. hip arthroplasty: 3.13 ± 1.35 vs. 2.78 ± 1.30; P = 0.04). Conclusion: Overall, patients are generally satisfied with perioperative care, but they have distinct needs and expectations regarding perioperative medication and postoperative pain management. Virtual postoperative monitoring may be a useful tool during postoperative care to address many of patients' concerns.

Factors associated with initiation of community-based therapy for emerging adults with mood and anxiety disorders.

AIM: The First Episode Mood and Anxiety Program (FEMAP) is a community-based early intervention program that has been shown to improve health outcomes for emerging adults (EAs) with mood and anxiety disorders. However, not all EAs who are admitted to the program initiate treatment. Our aim was to identify factors that distinguish those who initiated treatment from those who did not. METHODS: FEMAP administered questionnaires to EAs upon first contact with the program, collecting information on a range of socioeconomic, patient and condition-related factors. We compared EAs who initiated treatment in the program (n = 318, 87.4%) to those who did not (n = 46, 12.6%). To examine factors associated with treatment initiation, we specified a parsimonious logistic regression model, using the method of purposeful selection to choose from a range of candidate variables. RESULTS: Anxiety Sensitivity Index - Revised (ASI-R), binge drinking and cannabis use were included in the final logistic regression model. Each one-point increment in the ASI-R score was associated with a 1% increase in the odds of treatment initiation (OR = 1.014; 95% CI [1.003, 1.026]). No other variable was significantly associated with treatment initiation. CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides insight on the differences between EAs with mood and anxiety disorders who initiated targeted treatment services and those who did not. Anxiety sensitivity was significantly associated with treatment initiation at FEMAP. Our findings suggest that it may be anxiety sensitivity, rather than depression or functional impairment per se that drive treatment initiation among EAs.

Is SABR Cost-Effective in Oligometastatic Cancer? An Economic Analysis of the SABR-COMET Randomized Trial.

PURPOSE: The phase 2 randomized study SABR-COMET demonstrated that in patients with controlled primary tumors and 1 to 5 oligometastatic lesions, SABR was associated with improved progression-free survival (PFS) compared with standard of care (SoC), but with higher costs and treatment-related toxicities. The aim of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of SABR versus SoC in this setting. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A Markov model was constructed to perform a cost-utility analysis from the Canadian health care system perspective. Utility values and transition probabilities were derived from individual-level data from the SABR-COMET trial. One-way, 2-way, and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed. Costs were expressed in 2018 CAD. A separate analysis based on US payer's perspective was performed. An incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) at a willingness-to-pay threshold of $100,000 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) was used. RESULTS: In the base case scenario, SABR was cost-effective at an ICER of $37,157 per QALY gained. This finding was most sensitive to the number of metastatic lesions treated with SABR (ICER: $28,066 per QALY for 2, increasing to $64,429 per QALY for 5), difference in chemotherapy use (ICER: $27,173-$53,738 per QALY), and PFS hazard ratio (HR) between strategies (ICER: $31,548-$53,273 per QALY). Probabilistic sensitivity analysis revealed that SABR was cost-effective in 97% of all iterations. Two-way sensitivity analysis demonstrated a nonlinear relationship between the number of lesions and the PFS HR. To maintain cost-effectiveness for each additional metastasis, the HR must decrease by approximately 0.047. The US cost analysis yielded similar results, with an ICER of $54,564 (2018 USD per QALY) for SABR. CONCLUSIONS: SABR is cost-effective for patients with 1 to 5 oligometastatic lesions compared with SoC.

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Frailty Assessment in Older Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Surgery.

BACKGROUND: In perioperative settings, frailty assessment has been shown to reduce mortality. This study examined the cost effectiveness of frailty assessment among patients aged 65 with coronary artery disease under consideration for coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. METHODS: A combined decision tree and Markov model was developed to estimate costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) over a 21-year time horizon. Clinical parameters were obtained from published literature. Utilities were derived from the literature and the Canadian Community Health Survey. Costs were obtained from the Ontario fee schedule and published literature. Sensitivity and scenario analyses were conducted to assess the robustness of the results. Expected value of perfect information (EVPI) analysis was conducted to estimate the value of further research. RESULTS: The frailty assessment initiative had a lower average cost than no frailty assessment ($19,567 compared with $20,062). QALYs with frailty assessment were 0.47 years more than with no frailty assessment. Thus, frailty assessment was dominant compared with no frailty assessment. Results were robust to changes in the input parameters. At a willingness to pay (WTP) threshold of $50,000/QALY, there was 100% probability of frailty assessment being cost-effective, and the EVPI per patient was $0. Scenario and sensitivity analysis showed frailty screening remained cost effective when changing the cohort average age, removing health benefits for nonfrail patients, and using subjective judgement to modify effectiveness parameters. CONCLUSIONS: Frailty assessment may be good value for money. However, limited availability of geriatric consultation services, may hinder implementation. Thus, the estimated benefits of frailty screening may not be achievable in practice.

Antithrombotic treatment after coronary artery bypass graft surgery: systematic review and network meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of different oral antithrombotic drugs that prevent saphenous vein graft failure in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery. DESIGN: Systematic review and network meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES: Medline, Embase, Web of Science, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library from inception to 25 January 2019. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: for selecting studies Randomised controlled trials of participants (aged ≥18) who received oral antithrombotic drugs (antiplatelets or anticoagulants) to prevent saphenous vein graft failure after coronary artery bypass graft surgery. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary efficacy endpoint was saphenous vein graft failure and the primary safety endpoint was major bleeding. Secondary endpoints were myocardial infarction and death. RESULTS: This review identified 3266 citations, and 21 articles that related to 20 randomised controlled trials were included in the network meta-analysis. These 20 trials comprised 4803 participants and investigated nine different interventions (eight active and one placebo). Moderate certainty evidence supports the use of dual antiplatelet therapy with either aspirin plus ticagrelor (odds ratio 0.50, 95% confidence interval 0.31 to 0.79, number needed to treat 10) or aspirin plus clopidogrel (0.60, 0.42 to 0.86, 19) to reduce saphenous vein graft failure when compared with aspirin monotherapy. The study found no strong evidence of differences in major bleeding, myocardial infarction, and death among different antithrombotic therapies. The possibility of intransitivity could not be ruled out; however, between-trial heterogeneity and incoherence were low in all included analyses. Sensitivity analysis using per graft data did not change the effect estimates. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this network meta-analysis suggest an important absolute benefit of adding ticagrelor or clopidogrel to aspirin to prevent saphenous vein graft failure after coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Dual antiplatelet therapy after surgery should be tailored to the patient by balancing the safety and efficacy profile of the drug intervention against important patient outcomes. STUDY REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration number CRD42017065678.

Frailty in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation: a protocol for a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Aortic stenosis is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in older patients. The advent of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) offers an alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement for patients with severe symptomatic aortic stenosis who are at high or intermediate risk of adverse events. Existing evidence highlights the importance of frailty as a predictor of poor outcomes post-TAVI. The objective of this study is to review the operationalisation of frailty instruments for TAVI recipients and determine clinical outcomes and the change in quality of life in frail patients undergoing TAVI. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Methods are reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols 2015 checklist. We will search relevant databases to identify published, completed but unpublished and ongoing studies. We will include studies of patients with aortic stenosis, diagnosed as frail and who underwent a TAVI procedure that report mortality, clinical outcomes or health-related quality of life. Retrospective or prospective cohort studies, randomised controlled trials and non-randomised controlled trials will be eligible for inclusion. Two researchers will independently screen articles for inclusion, with disagreements resolved by a third reviewer. One researcher will extract data with audit by a second researcher. The risk of bias in studies will be evaluated using the Quality in Prognosis Studies tool. Meta-analysis of mortality, survival curve and the change in quality of life will be performed if appropriate. Subgroup analysis, sensitivity analysis and meta-regression will be performed if necessary. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Due to the nature of this study, no ethical issues are foreseen. We will disseminate the results of our systematic review through a peer-reviewed journal. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42018090597.

Healthcare utilization costs of emerging adults with mood and anxiety disorders in an early intervention treatment program compared to a matched cohort.

AIM: The First Episode Mood and Anxiety Disorder Program (FEMAP) provides treatment to emerging adults with mood and anxiety disorders in an accessible, youth-friendly environment. We sought to investigate FEMAP's impact on the costs of care. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective observational study of one-year health service costs using linked administrative datasets to compare emerging adults treated at FEMAP (FEMAP users) to propensity-score matched controls (non-users). Costs from the perspective of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, included drug benefit claims, inpatient, physician and ambulatory care services. We used bootstrapping to perform unadjusted comparisons between FEMAP users and non-users, by cost category and overall. We performed risk-adjusted comparison of overall costs using generalized estimating equations. RESULTS: FEMAP users (n = 366) incurred significantly lower costs compared to non-users (n = 660), for inpatient services (-$784, 95% confidence interval [CI] -$1765, -$28), ambulatory care services (-$90, 95% CI -$175, -$14) and drug benefit claims (-$47, 95% CI -$115,-$4) and significantly higher physician services costs ($435, 95% CI $276, $581) over 1 year. The unadjusted difference in overall costs was not significant (-$853, 95% CI -$2048, $142). Following adjustment for age, sex and age at first mental health diagnosis, the difference of -$914 (95% CI (-$2747, $919)) was also not significant. CONCLUSIONS: FEMAP was associated with significantly lower costs of inpatient and ambulatory care services, and higher costs of physician services, however we are unable to conclude that FEMAP is cost-saving overall.

Assessing the impact of a home-based stroke rehabilitation programme: a cost-effectiveness study.

Background: Stroke is often a severe and debilitating event that requires ongoing rehabilitation. The Community Stroke Rehabilitation Teams (CSRTs) offer home-based stroke rehabilitation to individuals for whom further therapy is unavailable or inaccessible. The objective of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the CSRT programme compared with a "Usual Care" cohort. Methods: We collected data on CSRT clients from January 2012 to February 2013. Comparator data were derived from a study of stroke survivors with limited access to specialised stroke rehabilitation. Literature-derived values were used to inform a long-term projection. Using Markov modelling, we projected the model for 35 years in six-month cycles. One-way, two-way, and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed. Results were discounted at 3% per year. Results: Results demonstrated that the CSRT programme has a net monetary benefit (NMB) of $43,655 over Usual Care, and is both less costly and more effective (incremental cost = -$17,255; incremental effect = 1.65 Quality Adjusted Life Years [QALYs]). Results of the probabilistic sensitivity analysis revealed that incremental cost-effectiveness of the CSRT programme is superior in 100% of iterations when compared to Usual Care. Conclusions: The study shows that CSRT model of care is cost-effective, and should be considered when evaluating potential stroke rehabilitation delivery methods. Implications for Rehabilitation Ongoing rehabilitation following stroke is imperative for optimal recovery. Home-based specialised stroke rehabilitation may be an option for individuals for whom ongoing rehabilitation is unavailable or inaccessible. The results of this study demonstrated that home-based rehabilitation is a cost-effective means of providing ongoing rehabilitation to individuals who have experienced a stroke.

Access and Health System Impact of an Early Intervention Treatment Program for Emerging Adults with Mood and Anxiety Disorders.

OBJECTIVES: Early intervention programs are effective for improving outcomes in first-episode psychosis; however, less is known about their effectiveness for mood and anxiety disorders. We sought to evaluate the impact of an early intervention program for emerging adults with mood and anxiety disorders in the larger health system context, relative to standard care. METHODS: Using health administrative data, we constructed a retrospective cohort of cases of mood and anxiety disorders among emerging adults aged 16 to 25 years in the catchment of the First Episode Mood and Anxiety Program (FEMAP) in London, Ontario, between 2009 and 2014. This cohort was linked to primary data from FEMAP to identify service users. We used proportional hazards models to compare indicators of service use between FEMAP users and a propensity score-matched group of nonusers receiving care elsewhere in the health system. RESULTS: FEMAP users (n = 490) had more rapid access to a psychiatrist relative to nonusers (hazard ratio [HR], 2.82; 95% confidence interval, 2.45 to 3.26; median time, 16 vs. 71 days). In the year following admission, FEMAP users also had lower rates of emergency department use for mental health reasons (HR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.99). We did not observe differences in psychiatric hospitalization rates. CONCLUSIONS: An early intervention model of care for mood and anxiety disorders is associated with better access to psychiatric care and lower use of the emergency department. Our findings suggest that early intervention services for mood and anxiety disorders may be beneficial from a health systems perspective, and further research on the effectiveness of this model of care is warranted.

Clinical impact of disinvestment in hydroxyethyl starch for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery: a retrospective observational study.

PURPOSE: To examine the effect of discontinuing hydroxyethyl starch (HES) solutions on length of hospital stay, transfusion, risk of death, acute kidney injury (AKI), and dialysis. METHODS: We conducted a historical cohort study of linked administrative and clinical databases in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) on cardiopulmonary bypass. We used propensity scores to match patients who did not receive HES (after discontinuation) with patients exposed to HES (before discontinuation) and also controlled for albumin exposure. Hospital length of stay (the primary outcome) was analyzed using Fine-Gray proportional hazard regression, with hospital discharge as the outcome and death as a competing risk. Adverse outcomes were compared between matched patients using conditional logistic regression. RESULTS: We compared 1,085 propensity score-matched pairs (n = 2,170) from a pool of 2,757 patients. Discontinuation of HES was associated with shorter length of hospital stay, as evidenced by an increased probability of discharge (hazard ratio, 1.24; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14 to 1.35) and a reduced risk of red blood cell transfusion (odds ratio [OR], 0.68; 95% CI, 0.55 to 0.84), plasma transfusion (OR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.34 to 0.66), and platelet transfusion (OR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.87). Discontinuation of HES was not associated with in-hospital mortality (OR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.36 to 1.54), AKI (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.57 to 1.25), or dialysis (OR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.25 to 2.73). CONCLUSIONS: For patients undergoing CABG on cardiopulmonary bypass, discontinuation of HES was associated with reduced hospital length of stay and reduced blood product transfusion, without measurable change in renal failure, dialysis rate, or in-hospital mortality. Our results should be interpreted with caution, though we found no evidence of harms associated with discontinuing HES. TRIAL REGISTRATION: www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02329158); registered 31 December, 2014.

Bayesian synthesis using prior information on fracture risk from randomized trials to analyze post-market data.

OBJECTIVE: To conduct a Bayesian evidence synthesis using commonly available statistical procedures to estimate fracture risk for postmenopausal women undergoing hormonal therapy for breast cancer. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Using linked administrative data, we conducted a retrospective cohort study of women aged 66 years or older diagnosed with stage I to III breast cancer in Ontario, Canada, between April 1, 2003, and February 28, 2010. We used data augmentation to perform Bayesian Cox regression of the hazard of a hip, spine, or wrist/forearm fracture, adjusting for age, history of fragility fracture, corticosteroid use, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, dementia, or diabetes diagnoses. RESULTS: Of 10,259 included in the sample, 3,733 initiated on tamoxifen and 6,526 on an aromatase inhibitor. Posterior probabilities that the hazard ratio (HR) exceeded 1 for aromatase inhibitor compared with tamoxifen were 46% (HR = 0.99, 95% credible interval [CrI] 0.71, 1.25), 35% (HR = 0.94, 95% CrI 0.78, 1.26), and 76% (HR = 1.08, 95% CrI 0.88, 1.32) with an uninformative prior, and 63% (HR = 1.04, 95% CrI 0.83, 1.3), 84% (HR = 1.12, 95% CrI 0.89, 1.4), and 89% (HR = 1.13, 95% CrI 0.93, 1.36) with an informative prior, for hip, spine, and wrist/forearm fractures, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Prior information resulted in higher posterior probabilities. The strength of evidence for increased risk varied by fracture site.

Antithrombotic therapy in patients receiving saphenous vein coronary artery bypass grafts: a protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: The current evidence for the prevention of saphenous vein graft failure (SVGF) after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery consists of direct head-to-head comparison of treatments (including placebo) in randomised-controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies. However, summarising the evidence using traditional pairwise meta-analyses does not allow the inclusion of data from treatments that have not been compared head to head. Exclusion of such comparisons could impact the precision of pooled estimates in a meta-analysis. Hence, to address the challenge of whether aspirin alone or in addition to another antithrombotic agent is a more effective regimen to improve SVG patency, a network meta-analysis (NMA) is necessary. The objectives of this study are to synthesise the available evidence on antithrombotic agents (or their combination) and estimate the treatment effects among direct and indirect treatment comparisons on SVGF and major adverse cardiovascular events, and to generate a treatment ranking according to their efficacy and safety outcomes. METHODS: We will perform a systematic review of RCTs evaluating antithrombotic agents in patients undergoing CABG. A comprehensive English literature search will be conducted using electronic databases and grey literature resources to identify published and unpublished articles. Two individuals will independently and in duplicate screen potential studies, assess the eligibility of potential studies and extract data. Risk of bias and quality of evidence will also be evaluated independently and in duplicate. We will investigate the data to ensure its suitability for NMA, including adequacy of the outcome data and transitivity of treatment effects. We plan to estimate the pooled direct, indirect and the mixed effects for all antithrombotic agents using a NMA. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Due to the nature of the study, there are no ethical concerns nor informed consent required. We anticipate that this NMA will be the first to simultaneously assess the relative effects of multiple antithrombotic agents in patients undergoing CABG. The results of this NMA will inform clinicians, patients and guideline developers the best available evidence on comparative effects benefits of antithrombotic agents after CABG while considering the side effect profile to support future clinical decision-making. We will disseminate the results of our systematic review and NMA through a peer-reviewed journal. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42017065678.

The Role of Decision Models in Health Care Policy: A Case Study.

BACKGROUND: In 2009, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) underwent a National Coverage Determination on computed tomography colonography (CTC) to screen for colorectal cancer. The Cancer Intervention & Surveillance Network developed decision models to inform this decision. The purpose of our study was to investigate the role of models in this decision. METHODS: We performed a descriptive case study. We conducted semistructured telephone interviews with members of the CMS coverage and analysis group (CAG) and Medicare Coverage and Analysis Advisory Committee (MEDCAC) panelists. Informed by previously published literature, we developed a coding scheme to analyze interview transcripts, MEDCAC meeting transcripts, and the final CMS decision memo. RESULTS: Four members of the CAG and 8 MEDCAC panelists were interviewed. The total number of codes across all study documents was 772. We found evidence that decision makers believed in the adequacy of models to inform decision making. In interview transcripts, the code Models Are Adequate to Inform was more frequent than the code Models Are Inadequate to Inform (47 times v. 5). Discussion of model conceptualization dominated the MEDCAC meeting (Model Conceptualization assigned 113 times) and was frequently discussed during interviews (Model Conceptualization assigned 84 times). We also found evidence that the models helped to focus the policy discussion. Across study documents, the codes Focus on Cost, Focus on Clinical-Health Impact, and Focus on Inadequacy of Evidence Base were assigned 99, 98, and 97 times, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Decision makers involved in the CTC decision believed in the adequacy of models to inform coverage decisions. The model played a role in focusing the CTC coverage policy discussion.