The effect of insurance status on treatment modality in advanced oral cavity cancer.

BACKGROUND: Insurance status has been shown to impact survival outcomes. We sought to determine whether insurance affects the choice of treatment modality among patients with advanced (T4) oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma. METHODS: This is a retrospective, population-based cohort study using the Survival, Epidemiology, and End Results Program database. The population included all adult (age ≥ 18) patients with advanced (T4a or T4b) oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma diagnosed from 2007 to 2016. The main outcome was the odds of receiving definitive treatment, defined as primary surgical resection. Insurance status was categorized into uninsured, any Medicaid, and insured groups. Univariable, multivariable, and subgroup analyses were performed. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 2628 patients, of whom 1915 (72.9%) were insured, 561 (21.3%) had Medicaid, and 152 (5.8%) were uninsured. The multivariable model showed that patients who were 80 years or older, unmarried, received treatment in the pre-Affordable Care Act (ACA) period, and who were on Medicaid or uninsured were significantly less likely to receive definitive treatment. Insured patients were significantly more likely to receive definitive treatment compared to those on Medicaid or uninsured (OR = 0.59, 95% CI 0.46-0.77, p < 0.0001 [Medicaid vs. Insured]; and OR = 0.48, 95% CI 0.31-0.73 p = 0.001 [Uninsured vs. Insured]), however these differences did not persist when considering only those patients treated following the 2014 expansion of the ACA. CONCLUSIONS: Insurance status is significantly associated with treatment modality among adults with advanced stage (T4a) oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma. These findings support the premise of expanding insurance coverage in the US.

Acute effects of salbutamol on systemic vascular function in people with asthma.

BACKGROUND: Asthmatics are at increased cardiovascular disease risk, which has been linked to beta2(ß2)-agonist use. Inhalation of ß2-agonists increases sympathetic nerve activity (SNA) in healthy individuals, however the systemic impact of salbutamol in asthmatics using ß2-agonists regularly is unknown. OBJECTIVES: This study compared the systemic vascular responses to a clinical dose of salbutamol (Phase I) and following an acute increase in SNA (Phase II) in asthmatics and controls. METHODS: Fourteen controls and 14 asthmatics were recruited for Phase I. On separate days, flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and peripheral arterial stiffness (pPWV) were evaluated at baseline and following either 400 µg inhaled salbutamol or a placebo inhaler. For Phase II, heart rate, blood pressure, vascular conductance, pPWV, and central (c)PWV were evaluated in response to a large increase in SNA brought on by cold-water hand immersion (i.e. cold-pressor test) or body-temperature water hand immersion (i.e. control) in 10 controls and 10 asthmatics. RESULTS: Following salbutamol, asthmatics demonstrated reduced FMD (-3.0%, p < 0.05) and increased pPWV (+0.7 m/s, p < 0.05); however, salbutamol had no effect in controls. The cold-pressor test resulted in similar increases in blood pressure, vascular flow rates and conductance, pPWV, and cPWV in both asthmatics and controls, suggesting similar neurovascular transduction in asthmatics and controls. CONCLUSION: Inhaled Salbutamol leads to increased arterial stiffness and reduced FMD in asthmatics. As asthmatics and controls had similar vascular responses to an increase in SNA, these findings suggest asthmatics have heightened sympathetic responses to ß2-agonists which may contribute to the increased cardiovascular risk in asthma.