Palliative Care as a Component of High-Value and Cost-Saving Care During Hospitalization for Metastatic Cancer.

PURPOSE: Randomized controlled trials have demonstrated that palliative care (PC) can improve quality of life and survival for outpatients with advanced cancer, but there are limited population-based data on the value of inpatient PC. We assessed PC as a component of high-value care among a nationally representative sample of inpatients with metastatic cancer and identified hospitalization characteristics significantly associated with high costs. METHODS: Hospitalizations of patients 18 years and older with a primary diagnosis of metastatic cancer from the National Inpatient Sample from 2010 to 2019 were analyzed. We used multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression to assess medical services, patient demographics, and hospital characteristics associated with higher charges billed to insurance and hospital costs. Generalized linear mixed-effects models were used to determine cost savings associated with provision of PC. RESULTS: Among 397,691 hospitalizations from 2010 to 2019, the median charge per admission increased by 24.9%, from $44,904 in US dollars (USD) to $56,098 USD, whereas the median hospital cost remained stable at $14,300 USD. Receipt of inpatient PC was associated with significantly lower charges (odds ratio [OR], 0.62 [95% CI, 0.61 to 0.64]; P < .001) and costs (OR, 0.59 [95% CI, 0.58 to 0.61]; P < .001). Factors associated with high charges were receipt of invasive medical ventilation (P < .001) or systemic therapy (P < .001), Hispanic patients (P < .001), young age (18-49 years, P < .001), and for-profit hospitals (P < .001). PC provision was associated with a $1,310 USD (-13.6%, P < .001) reduction in costs per hospitalization compared with no PC, independent of the receipt of invasive care and age. CONCLUSION: Inpatient PC is associated with reduced hospital costs for patients with metastatic cancer, irrespective of age and receipt of aggressive interventions. Integration of inpatient PC may de-escalate costs incurred through low-value inpatient interventions.

High-quality Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium barbadense genome assemblies reveal the landscape and evolution of centromeres.

Centromere positioning and organization are crucial for genome evolution; however, research on centromere biology is largely influenced by the quality of available genome assemblies. Here, we combined Oxford Nanopore and Pacific Biosciences technologies to de novo assemble two high-quality reference genomes for Gossypium hirsutum (TM-1) and Gossypium barbadense (3-79). Compared with previously published reference genomes, our assemblies show substantial improvements, with the contig N50 improved by 4.6-fold and 5.6-fold, respectively, and thus represent the most complete cotton genomes to date. These high-quality reference genomes enable us to characterize 14 and 5 complete centromeric regions for G. hirsutum and G. barbadense, respectively. Our data revealed that the centromeres of allotetraploid cotton are occupied by members of the centromeric repeat for maize (CRM) and Tekay long terminal repeat families, and the CRM family reshapes the centromere structure of the At subgenome after polyploidization. These two intertwined families have driven the convergent evolution of centromeres between the two subgenomes, ensuring centromere function and genome stability. In addition, the repositioning and high sequence divergence of centromeres between G. hirsutum and G. barbadense have contributed to speciation and centromere diversity. This study sheds light on centromere evolution in a significant crop and provides an alternative approach for exploring the evolution of polyploid plants.

Impairment Types and Combinations Among Adolescents and Young Adults with Disabilities: Colorado 2014-2018.

OBJECTIVE: Understanding the types of functional challenges faced by adolescents and young adults with disabilities (AYA-WD) can help payers, clinicians, community-based service providers, and policymakers recognize and meet needs. This paper describes state-level prevalence rates for 1) AYA-WD overall and for 2) impairment types singly and in combinations; and 3) examines how rates may differ between those insured by Medicaid versus commercial insurance. METHODS: This descriptive study uses Colorado's All Payer Claims Dataset 2014-2018 to identify insured 10- to 26-year-olds (Medicaid only: 333,931; commercially only: 392,444). It then applies the previously validated Children with Disabilities Algorithm (CWDA) and its companion, the Diagnosis-to-Impairment-Type Algorithm (DITA), to compare state-level prevalence rates by insurance source for disability overall and for each of five impairment types singly and in combination. RESULTS: Disability prevalence was greater among the Medicaid-insured AYA-WD by +7.6% points (pp)-Medicaid: 11.9% (47,654/333,931), commercial: 4.3% (16,907/392,444). Most AYA-WD had a single impairment, but the prevalence of AYA-WD with two or more impairments was greater among the Medicaid-insured than the commercially insured (+9.9 pp; Medicaid: 33.5% [15,963/47,654], commercial: 23.7% [3992/16, 907]), as was the prevalence of impairment types that were physical (+6.7 pp; Medicaid: 54.7% [26,054/47,654], commercial: 48.0% [8121/16,907]); developmental (+4.1 pp; Medicaid: 35.4% [16,874/47,654], commercial: 31.3% [5290/16,907]); psychiatric (+6.7 pp; Medicaid 21.3% [10,175/47,654], commercial: 14.6% [2470/16,907]), and intellectual (+9.3 pp; Medicaid: 26.2% [12,501/47,654], commercial: 16.9% [2858/16,907]). CONCLUSIONS: CWDA and DITA can be used to understand the rates at which impairment types and combinations occur in a population with childhood-onset disabilities.

Tannic acid-inspired star polymers for functional metal-phenolic networks with tunable pore sizes.

Tannic acid (TA) is a structurally undefined natural dendritic polyphenol. Here, we introduce a series of TA-inspired polymers with different arm lengths, Mn, and phenolic groups that can be used to engineer metal-phenolic network (MPN) capsules with different properties including controlled permeability, high biocompatibility, and fluorescence.

Increases in Inpatient Psychiatry Beds Operated by Systems, For-Profits, and Chains, 2010-2016.

OBJECTIVE: This study explored trends in the quantity of inpatient psychiatry beds and in facility characteristics. METHODS: Using the National Bureau of Economic Research's Health Systems and Provider Database, the authors examined changes in the number of psychiatric facilities and beds, focusing on system ownership, profit status, facility type (general acute care versus freestanding), and affiliation with psychiatric hospital chains from 2010 to 2016. RESULTS: The number of psychiatric beds was relatively unchanged from 2010 (N=112,182 beds) to 2016 (N=111,184). However, the number of beds operated by systems increased by 39.8% (N=15,803); for-profits, by 56.9% (N=8,572); and chains, by 16.7% (N=6,256). Net increases in beds were primarily concentrated in for-profit freestanding psychiatric hospitals. In 2016, most for-profit beds were part of chains (70.2%) and systems (61.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Inpatient psychiatry has shifted toward increased ownership by systems, for-profits, and chains. Payers and policy makers should safeguard against profiteering, and future research should investigate the implications of these trends on quality of care.

Kidney Outcomes and Risk Factors for Nephritis (Flare/De Novo) in a Multiethnic Cohort of Pregnant Patients with Lupus.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Kidney disease is a critical concern in counseling patients with lupus considering pregnancy. This study sought to assess the risk of renal flares during pregnancy in women with previous lupus nephritis in partial or complete remission, particularly in those with antidouble-stranded DNA antibodies and low complement levels, and the risk of new-onset nephritis in patients with stable/mildly active SLE. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: We assessed active nephritis (renal flares and de novo kidney disease) and associated predictors during pregnancy in patients with lupus with urine protein ≤1000 mg and serum creatinine <1.2 mg/dl at baseline; 373 patients (52% ethnic/racial minorities) enrolled between 2003 and 2012 were prospectively followed in the Predictors of Pregnancy Outcome: Biomarkers in Antiphospholipid Syndrome and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Study. Active nephritis was defined by proteinuria increase of >500 mg and/or red blood cell casts. RESULTS: Of 118 patients with previous kidney disease, 13 renal flares (11%) occurred (seven of 89 in complete remission and six of 29 in partial remission) compared with four with de novo kidney involvement (2%) in 255 patients without past kidney disease (P<0.001). Active nephritis was not associated with ethnicity, race, age, creatinine, BP, or antihypertensive and other medications. In multivariable logistic regression analyses, patients with past kidney disease in complete or partial remission more often experienced active nephritis (adjusted odds ratio, 6.88; 95% confidence interval, 1.84 to 25.71; P=0.004 and adjusted odds ratio, 20.98; 95% confidence interval, 4.69 to 93.98; P<0.001, respectively) than those without past kidney disease. Low C4 was associated with renal flares/de novo disease (adjusted odds ratio, 5.59; 95% confidence interval, 1.64 to 19.13; P<0.01) but not low C3 or positive anti-dsDNA alone. CONCLUSIONS: De novo kidney involvement in SLE, even in ethnic/racial minorities, is uncommon during pregnancy. Past kidney disease and low C4 at baseline independently associate with higher risk of developing active nephritis. Antibodies to dsDNA alone should not raise concern, even in patients with past kidney disease, if in remission.