The birth certificate as an efficient means of identifying children conceived with the help of infertility treatment.

Recent work suggests that infertility treatment is associated with adverse child health outcomes. In exploring various methods of assembling a cohort of children conceived by infertility treatment, the authors conducted a validation study of the assisted reproductive technology and infertility drug use check boxes on the Massachusetts birth certificate. Using 2001 and 2002 data, the authors conducted telephone interviews with 399 women whose child's birth certificate had at least one of the boxes checked along with 185 women who were over age 42 years or who delivered twins or higher order multiples to compare the check box information with maternal report. Among the 579 women with available information, the birth certificate was fully concordant with respect to infertility treatment status for 271 (47%) women, partially concordant for 248 (43%) women, and discordant for 60 (10%) women. Agreement between the birth certificate and maternal report was good for singletons (weighted kappa = 0.66) but was found to be very poor among twins and higher order multiples (weighted kappa = 0.05). The authors concluded that birth certificates are an efficient means of locating children conceived with the help of infertility treatment but that they are not appropriate for identifying type of treatment.

Venous thromboembolism prophylaxis among medical patients at US hospitals.

BACKGROUND: Chemoprophylaxis is recommended for medical patients at moderate to high risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and is now a requirement of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. To see who receives prophylaxis and how far hospitals will need to go to meet this requirement, we examined VTE prophylaxis patterns at US hospitals. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of adult patients with seven medical diagnoses considered to carry moderate to high risk of VTE at 376 acute care facilities in 2004-2005. We excluded patients on warfarin or with hospital stays of <2 days. VTE prophylaxis was assessed by billing codes for any heparin or compression device. We classified patient risk using a VTE risk prediction model. RESULTS: Of 351,535 patients included, 36% received prophylaxis by hospital day 2. Prophylaxis rates were highest among patients with certain VTE risk factors, including mechanical ventilation (67%), restraints (57%), central lines (55%), obesity (46%), and prior VTE (44%). The median hospital rate was 31% (IQR 19% to 42%); only 3% of hospitals had rates >70%. Compared to patients at low risk of VTE (<0.05%), patients at high risk (>1.0%) were more likely to receive prophylaxis (52% vs. 34%, p < 0.001). Hospitals with high rates of prescribing for high-risk patients also had high rates for low-risk patients. CONCLUSIONS: VTE prophylaxis rates at US hospitals are substantially below Joint Commission targets, even for patients at highest risk of VTE.

Association of corticosteroid dose and route of administration with risk of treatment failure in acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

CONTEXT: Systemic corticosteroids are beneficial for patients hospitalized with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); however, their optimal dose and route of administration are uncertain. OBJECTIVE: To compare the outcomes of patients treated with low doses of steroids administered orally to those treated with higher doses administered intravenously. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS: A pharmacoepidemiological cohort study conducted at 414 US hospitals involving patients admitted with acute exacerbation of COPD in 2006 and 2007 to a non-intensive care setting and who received systemic corticosteroids during the first 2 hospital days. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A composite measure of treatment failure, defined as the initiation of mechanical ventilation after the second hospital day, inpatient mortality, or readmission for acute exacerbation of COPD within 30 days of discharge. Length of stay and hospital costs. RESULTS: Of 79,985 patients, 73,765 (92%) were initially treated with intravenous steroids, whereas 6220 (8%) received oral treatment. We found that 1.4% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3%-1.5%) of the intravenously and 1.0% (95% CI, 0.7%-1.2%) of the orally treated patients died during hospitalization, whereas 10.9% (95% CI, 10.7%-11.1%) of the intravenously and 10.3% (95% CI, 9.5%-11.0%) of the orally treated patients experienced the composite outcome. After multivariable adjustment, including the propensity for oral treatment, the risk of treatment failure among patients treated orally was not worse than for those treated intravenously (odds ratio [OR], 0.93; 95% CI, 0.84-1.02). In a propensity-matched analysis, the risk of treatment failure was significantly lower among orally treated patients (OR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.75-0.95), as was length of stay and cost. Using an adaptation of the instrumental variable approach, increased rate of treatment with oral steroids was not associated with a change in the risk of treatment failure (OR for each 10% increase in hospital use of oral steroids, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.97-1.03). A total of 1356 (22%) patients initially treated with oral steroids were switched to intravenous therapy later in the hospitalization. CONCLUSION: Among patients hospitalized for acute exacerbation of COPD low-dose steroids administered orally are not associated with worse outcomes than high-dose intravenous therapy.

Antibiotic therapy and treatment failure in patients hospitalized for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

CONTEXT: Guidelines recommend antibiotic therapy for acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but the evidence is based on small, heterogeneous trials, few of which include hospitalized patients. OBJECTIVE: To compare the outcomes of patients treated with antibiotics in the first 2 hospital days with those treated later or not at all. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS: Retrospective cohort of patients aged 40 years or older who were hospitalized from January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2007, for acute exacerbations of COPD at 413 acute care facilities throughout the United States. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A composite measure of treatment failure, defined as the initiation of mechanical ventilation after the second hospital day, inpatient mortality, or readmission for acute exacerbations of COPD within 30 days of discharge; length of stay, and hospital costs. RESULTS: Of 84,621 patients, 79% received at least 2 consecutive days of antibiotic treatment. Treated patients were less likely than nontreated patients to receive mechanical ventilation after the second hospital day (1.07%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06%-1.08% vs 1.80%; 95% CI, 1.78%-1.82%), had lower rates of inpatient mortality (1.04%; 95% CI, 1.03%-1.05% vs 1.59%; 95% CI, 1.57%-1.61%), and had lower rates of readmission for acute exacerbations of COPD (7.91%; 95% CI, 7.89%-7.94% vs 8.79%; 95% CI, 8.74%-8.83%). Patients treated with antibiotic agents had a higher rate of readmissions for Clostridium difficile (0.19%; 95% CI, 0.187%-0.193%) than those who were not treated (0.09%; 95% CI, 0.086%-0.094%). After multivariable adjustment, including the propensity for antibiotic treatment, the risk of treatment failure was lower in antibiotic-treated patients (odds ratio, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.82-0.92). A grouped treatment approach and hierarchical modeling to account for potential confounding of hospital effects yielded similar results. Analysis stratified by risk of treatment failure found similar magnitudes of benefit across all subgroups. CONCLUSION: Early antibiotic administration was associated with improved outcomes among patients hospitalized for acute exacerbations of COPD regardless of the risk of treatment failure.

Smoking among participants in the childhood cancer survivors cohort: the Partnership for Health Study.

PURPOSE: This article describes baseline data collection and the intervention design of Partnership for Health, a smoking cessation intervention for smokers in the Childhood Cancer Survivors Study. The purpose of this article is to evaluate demographic, psychosocial, and cancer-related factors that are associated with smoking behavior and mediators of smoking cessation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study includes 796 smokers from the Childhood Cancer Survivors Study database who were diagnosed with cancer before the age of 21, had survived at least 5 years, and were at least 18 years of age at the time of the baseline survey. Correlates of smoking behaviors included smoking rate, number of recent quit attempts, and nicotine dependence; two key mediators of smoking cessation, readiness to quit smoking and self-efficacy, were also assessed. RESULTS: Participants smoked, on average, 14 cigarettes/day; 53.2% were nicotine dependent, and 58% had made at least one quit attempt in the past year. Smoking behaviors were primarily associated with demographic variables; mediators of cessation were primarily associated with age at cancer diagnosis and perceived vulnerability to smoking-related illnesses. Severity of psychologic symptoms was associated with increased smoking rate, high nicotine dependence, and low self-efficacy. Support for quitting was related to smoking rate, number of quit attempts, readiness to quit smoking, and self-efficacy. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that many cancer survivors who smoke are receptive to smoking cessation interventions. Factors related to mediators of smoking cessation might be particularly good targets for intervention.

Healthcare system factors and colorectal cancer screening.

BACKGROUND: Developing effective programs to promote colorectal cancer (CRC) screening requires understanding of the effect of healthcare system factors on access to screening and adherence to guidelines. METHODS: This study assessed the role of insurance status, type of plan, the frequency of preventive health visits, and provider recommendation on utilization of CRC screening tests using a cross-sectional, random-digit-dial survey of 1002 Massachusetts residents aged > or =50. RESULTS: A broad definition of CRC screening status included colonoscopy or barium enema (screening or diagnostic) within 10 years, flexible sigmoidoscopy (FSIG) within 5 years, and fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) in the past year as options; 51.7% of subjects aged 50 to 64 and 61.5% of older subjects were current. The uninsured had the lowest current testing rate. Among insured participants, type of insurance had little impact on CRC testing; older subjects enrolled in HMOs had marginally higher rates, although not statistically significant. Increased frequency of preventive health visits and ever receiving a physician's recommendation for FSIG or ever receiving FOBT cards were associated with higher rates of CRC screening among both age groups. CONCLUSIONS: Even when broad criteria are used to define current CRC screening status, a substantial proportion of the age-eligible population remains underscreened. Obtaining regular preventive care and receiving a physician's recommendation for screening appear to be potent facilitators of screening that should be considered in designing promotional efforts.

Comparative effectiveness of low-molecular-weight heparin versus unfractionated heparin for thromboembolism prophylaxis for medical patients.

BACKGROUND: Both unfractionated heparin (UFH) and low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) are approved for venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis. Which agent is superior remains controversial. OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness, complications, and costs of UFH and LMWH as VTE prophylaxis for hospitalized medical patients. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort. SETTING: Three hundred thirty-three acute care facilities in 2004-2005. PATIENTS: Adults with 4 common medical diagnoses considered to carry moderate-to-high risk of VTE. Excluded were patients on warfarin or with hospital stays of ≤ 2 days. VTE prophylaxis was assessed from billing data. INTERVENTION: None. MEASUREMENTS: VTE, major bleeding or heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, mortality, and cost. RESULTS: Of 32,104 patients who received prophylaxis, 55% received LMWH and the remainder received UFH. The hospital where the patient obtained care was the strongest predictor of receiving LMWH. VTE was observed in 163 (0.51%) patients; complications, followed by stopping therapy, were rare (<0.2%). In analysis adjusted for the propensity for UFH and other covariates, patients treated with UFH had an odds ratio for VTE of 1.04 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.76 to 1.43) compared to LMWH. In a grouped treatment model, the odds of VTE with UFH was 1.14 (95% CI 0.72 to 1.81). Adjusted odds of bleeding with UFH compared to LMWH were 1.64 (95% CI 0.50 to 5.33), adjusted odds of complications followed by stopping prophylaxis were 2.84 (95% CI 1.43 to 45.66), and adjusted cost ratio was 0.97 (95% CI 0.90 to 1.05). CONCLUSIONS: For VTE prophylaxis, the effectiveness and cost of LMWH and UFH are similar, but LMWH is associated with fewer complications.

Risk factor model to predict venous thromboembolism in hospitalized medical patients.

BACKGROUND: The Joint Commission requires that all medical inpatients be assessed for venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk, but available risk stratification tools have never been validated. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients age ≥18 years, admitted to 374 US hospitals in 2004-2005, with a primary diagnosis of pneumonia, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), stroke, and urinary tract infection, and length of stay ≥3 days. Subjects were randomly assigned (80/20) to a derivation or validation set. We then assessed VTE (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision [ICD-9] code plus diagnostic test plus treatment), patient demographics, 21 potential risk factors, and other comorbidities. We created a VTE risk stratification tool using multivariable regression modeling and applied it to the validation sample. RESULTS: Of 242,738 patients, 612 (0.25%) patients fulfilled our criteria for VTE during hospitalization, and an additional 440 (0.18%) were readmitted for VTE within 30 days (overall incidence of 0.43%). In the multivariable model, age, sex, and 10 additional risk factors were associated with VTE. The strongest risk factors were inherited thrombophilia (OR 4.00), length of stay ≥6 days (OR 3.22), inflammatory bowel disease (OR 3.11), central venous catheter (OR 1.87), and cancer. In the validation set, the model had a c-statistic of 0.75 (95% CI 0.71, 0.78). Deciles of predicted risk ranged from 0.11% to 1.46% with observed risk over the same deciles from 0.17% to 1.81%. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of symptomatic VTE in general medical patients is low. A risk factor model can identify those at sufficient risk to warrant pharmacologic prophylaxis.

Comparative effectiveness of macrolides and quinolones for patients hospitalized with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD).

BACKGROUND: Meta-analyses of randomized trials have found that antibiotics are effective in acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD), but there is insufficient evidence to guide antibiotic selection. Current guidelines offer conflicting recommendations. OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of macrolides and quinolones for AECOPD DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study using logistic regression, propensity score-matching, and grouped treatment models. SETTING: A total of 375 acute care hospitals throughout the United States. PATIENTS: Age > or =40 years and hospitalized for AECOPD. INTERVENTION: Macrolide or quinolone antibiotic begun in the first 2 hospital days. MEASUREMENTS: Treatment failure (defined as the initiation of mechanical ventilation after hospital day 2, inpatient mortality, or readmission for AECOPD within 30 days), length of stay, and hospital costs. RESULTS: Of the 19,608 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 6139 (31%) were treated initially with a macrolide and 13,469 (69%) with a quinolone. Compared to patients treated initially with a quinolone, those who received macrolides had a lower risk of treatment failure (6.8% vs. 8.1%; P < 0.01), a finding that was attenuated after multivariable adjustment (odds ratio [OR], 0.89; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.78-1.01), and disappeared in a grouped-treatment analysis (OR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.75-1.35). There were no differences in adjusted length of stay (ratio, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.97-1.00) or adjusted cost (ratio, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.99-1.02). After propensity score-matching, antibiotic-associated diarrhea was more common with quinolones (1.2% vs. 0.6%; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Macrolide and quinolone antibiotics are associated with similar rates of treatment failure in AECOPD; however, macrolides are less frequently associated with diarrhea.