Infused Chemotherapy Use in the Elderly after Patent Expiration

This weekly compilation of articles appearing in recently released journals and newsletters includes:

• Articles funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) or authored by AHRQ researchers.
• Articles mentioning or discussing AHRQ staff, activities, and publications/products.
• Articles related to AHRQ-funded Evidence-based Practice Centers.
• Articles related to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force or Put Prevention into Practice program.
• Articles mentioning the National Healthcare Disparities Report and National Healthcare Quality Report.
• Other research using AHRQ data or products.

AHRQ-Funded/Authored Articles

American Journal of Managed Care
Conti RM, Rosenthal MB, Blase NP, Bach PB, Shih YT. Infused chemotherapy use in the elderly after patent expiration. Am J Manag Care 2012 May; 18(5 SP 2):e173-8. [Supported in part by grant R01 HS18535 (to last author).]

Annals of Thoracic Surgery
Kozower BD, Stukenborg GJ. Hospital esophageal cancer resection volume does not predict patient mortality risk. Ann Thorac Surg 2012 May; 93(5):1690-8. [Supported by grants K08 HS18049 (to first author) and R01 HS17693-01A1 (to second author); uses 2007 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) data, citing Overview of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) and AHRQ publication, 2004 HCUP Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) Comparison Report, HCUP Method Series Report 2007-03, 2007 (both published on AHRQ's HCUP Web site), and uses AHRQ's Elixhauser comorbidity measures (Elixhauser et al., Med Care, 1998); cites AHRQ publication, AHRQ Quality Indicators—Guide to Inpatient Quality Indicators: Quality of Care in Hospitals—Volume, Mortality, and Utilization, 2002, as published on AHRQ's Quality Indicators Web site.] Select to access the abstract.

Archives of Internal Medicine
Pham-Kanter G, Alexander GC, Nair K. Effect of physician payment disclosure laws on prescribing. Arch Intern Med 2012 May 28;172(10):819-21. [Supported in part by grant R01 HS189960 (to second author).]

Archives of Surgery
Anderson JE, Lassiter R, Bickler SW, Talamini MA, Chang DC, et al. Brief tool to measure risk-adjusted surgical outcomes in resource-limited hospitals. Arch Surg 2012 May 21 [Epub ahead of print. Supported in part by SCANNER grant R01 HS19913-01 (to last author).]

Arthritis Care and Research
Curtis JR, Luijtens K, Kavanaugh A. Predicting future response to certolizumab pegol in rheumatoid arthritis patients: features at 12 weeks associated with low disease activity at 1 year. Arthritis Care Res 2012 May; 64(5):658-67. [Supported in part by grant R01 HS18517 (to first author).] Select to access the abstract.

Contemporary Clinical Trials
Outman RC, Curtis JR, Locher JL, et al. Improving osteoporosis care in high-risk home health patients through a high-intensity intervention. Contemp Clin Trials 2012 Jan: 33(1):206-12. [Supported by Centers for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERTs) grant U18 HS16956.] Select to access the abstract.

Journal of Aging and Health
Steinman BA, Allen SM. Self-reported vision impairment and its contribution to disability among older adults. J Aging Health 2012 Mar; 24(2):307-22. [Supported by grant 5 T32 HS00011.] Select to access the abstract.

Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine
West DR, Radcliff TA, Brown T, et al. Costs associated with data collection and reporting for diabetes quality improvement in primary care practices: a report from SNOCAP-USA. J Am Board Fam Med 2012 May; 25(3):275-82. [Supported by contract HHSA290-2007-10008-I (the Primary Care-Practice-Based Research Network Master Contract with AHRQ task order officer David Lanier, former AHRQ researcher); cites "The Theory of Value-Based Purchasing" in AHRQ report, Theory and Reality of Value-Based Purchasing: Lessons from the Pioneers, as published on the AHRQ Web site; cites AHRQ publication, Advances in Patient Safety: From Research to Implementation, Volume 3: Implementation Issues, 2005.] Select to access the abstract.

Journal of Biomedical Informatics
Abraham J, Kannampallil TG, Patel VL. Bridging gaps in handoffs: a continuity of care based approach. J Biomed Inform 2012 Apr; 45(2):240-54. [Supported by grant 1 T32 HS17586-02.] Select to access the abstract.

Journal of Hospital Medicine
Speroff T, Ely EW, Greevy R, et al. Quality improvement projects targeting health care-associated infections: comparing Virtual Collaborative and Toolkit approaches. J Hosp Med 2011 May; 6(5):271-8. [Supported by Partnerships in Implementing Patient Safety (PIPS) award grant U18 HS15934; acknowledge support of AHRQ collaborative investigators; cites AHRQ technical review, Closing the Quality Gap: A Critical Analysis of Quality Improvement Strategies, Volume 1: Series Overview and Methodology, 2004 (prepared by the Stanford University-UCSF Evidence-based Practices Center (EPC) under contract 290-02-0017).] Select to access the abstract.

Medical Care
Utter GH, Cuny J, Strater A, et al. Variation in academic medical centers' coding practices for postoperative respiratory complications. Med Care 2012 May 25 [Epub ahead of print. Supported by contract 290-04-0020.] Select to access the abstract.

Neurology
Skolarus LE, Meurer WJ, Burke JF, Prvu Bettger J, et al. Effect of insurance status on postacute care among working age stroke survivors. Neurology 2012 May 15; 78(20):1590-5. [Supported in part by grant R18 HS17690 (to second author) and Mentored Comparative Effectiveness Research Scholar Program grant K12 HS19479 (to fourth author); uses 2004-2006 HCUP NIS data and a modification of the AHRQ-funded adaptation (Deyo et al.) of the Charlson comorbidity index and AHRQ's Elixhauser comorbidity measures described in articles by Quan et al. (Med Care, 2005) and Goldstein et al. (Stroke, 2004.] Select to access the abstract.

Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety
Schneeweiss S, Seeger JD, Smith SR. Methods for developing and analyzing clinically rich data for patient-centered outcomes research: an overview. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 2012 May; 21 Suppl 2:1-5. [Third author is a researcher in AHRQ's Center for Outcomes and Evidence; supported by contract 290-05-0016-I (as part of the Developing Evidence to Inform Decisions about Effectiveness (DEcIDE) program); mentions the AHRQ-sponsored Effective Health Care Program conference "Research Methods for Comparative Effectiveness (CER) and Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (PCOR)," 2011; comments on AHRQ-funded and other articles cited below in this section and in other sections of this Articles of Interest.

Toh S, García Rodríguez LA, Hernán MA. Analyzing partially missing confounder information in comparative effectiveness and safety research of therapeutics. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 2012 May; 21 Suppl 2:13-20. [Supported in part by grant R03 HS19024.] Select to access the abstract.

Rassen JA, Shelat AA, Myers J, et al. One-to-many propensity score matching in cohort studies. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 2012 May; 21 Suppl 2:69-80. [Supported in part by Career Development Award grant K01 HS18088 (to first author).] Select to access the abstract.

Hammill BG, Curtis LH, Setoguchi S. Performance of propensity score methods when comparison groups originate from different data sources. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 2012 May; 21 Suppl 2:81-9. [Supported by Mid-Career Development Award grant K02HS17731 (to last author).] Select to access the abstract.

Polinski JM, Schneeweiss S, Glynn RJ, Lii J, Rassen JA. Confronting "confounding by health system use" in Medicare Part D: comparative effectiveness of propensity score approaches to confounding adjustment. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 2012 May; 21 Suppl 2:90-8. [Supported in part by grant K01 HS18088 (to last author); compares results with those from AHRQ-funded article by Rassen et al. cited above in this section.] Select to access the abstract.

Neugebauer R, Fireman B, Roy JA, et al. Dynamic marginal structural modeling to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of more or less aggressive treatment intensification strategies in adults with type 2 diabetes. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 2012 May; 21 Suppl 2:99-113. [Supported by contract HHSA290-2005-0033-I (as part of the DEcIDE program).] Select to access the abstract.

Weiss CO, Segal JB, Varadhan R. Assessing the applicability of trial evidence to a target sample in the presence of heterogeneity of treatment effect. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 2012 May; 21 Suppl 2:121-9. [Supported in part by contract HHSA290-2005-0034-I, task order 5 (as part of the DEcIDE program); cites AHRQ-sponsored reports A Framework to Identify and Address Heterogeneity of Treatment Effect in Comparative Effectiveness Research, 2010, and Assessment of the Clinical Exchangeability of a Trial with a Target Sample Using Multivariate Methods, 2010.] Select to access the abstract.

Greevy RA Jr, Grijalva CG, Roumie CL, et al. Reweighted Mahalanobis distance matching for cluster-randomized trials with missing data. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 2012 May; 21 Suppl 2:148-54. [Supported in part by contract HHSA290-2010-00016-1 (as part of the DEcIDE program).] Select to access the abstract.

PLoS One
Norris SL, Holmer HK, Burda BU, et al. Conflict of interest policies for organizations producing a large number of clinical practice guidelines. PLoS One 2012; 7(5):e37413. [Supported by grant 1 R01 HS18500; uses AHRQ's National Guideline Clearinghouse™ (NGC) to identify organizations that had five or more guidelines listed in the database; cites AHRQ publication, U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Procedure Manual, 2008, as published on the USPSTF Web site; notes that first author participated in the development of USPSTF-sponsored systematic reviews and that third author is employed by the Oregon EPC at Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research and participates in the development of evidence reviews and methodology for the USPSTF.] Select to access the abstract.

Spine
Tait RC, Chibnall JT. Legal sequelae of occupational back injuries. Spine 2011 Aug; 36(17):1402-9. [Supported by grants R01 HS13087 and R01 HS14007. Also refer to AHRQ-funded articles by Shamliyan, Kane, and Jansen (J Clin Epidemiol, 2012) and Chung et al. (J Clin Epidemiol, 2012) cited in Evidence-based Practice Centers-Related Articles.] Select to access the abstract.

AHRQ-Related Articles

American Journal of Managed Care
Guy GP Jr, Richardson LC. Visit duration for outpatient physician office visits among patients with cancer. Am J Manag Care 2012 May; 18(5 SP 2):SP49-SP56. [Cites AHRQ-funded articles by Fiscella et al. (Med Care, 2004) and Blumenthal et al. (J Fam Pract, 1999).]

Farkas DT, Greenbaum A, Singhal V, et al. Effect of insurance status on the stage of breast and colorectal cancers in a safety-net hospital. Am J Manag Care 2012 May; 18(5 SP 2):SP65-SP70. [Cites AHRQ-funded articles by Sommers, Swartz, and Epstein (Health Aff, 2011) and Werner, Goldman, and Dudley (JAMA, 2008).]

Wang A, Halbert RJ, Baerwaldt T, et al. US payer perspectives on evidence for formulary decision making. Am J Manag Care 2012 May; 18(5 SP 2):SP71-SP76. [Cites AHRQ-authored article by Navathe and Conway (former AHRQ researcher) (Am J Manag Care, 2010).]

Lowry SJ, Loggers ET, Bowles EJ, et al. Evidence gaps in advanced cancer care: community-based clinicians' perspectives and priorities for CER. Am J Manag Care 2012 May; 18(5 SP 2):SP77-SP83. [Cites AHRQ-authored article by Tunis, Stryer, and Clancy (second and third authors are former AHRQ center director and current AHRQ director, respectively) (JAMA, 2003).]

Feinberg BA, Lang J, Grzegorczyk J, et al. Implementation of cancer clinical care pathways: a successful model of collaboration between payers and providers. Am J Manag Care 2012 May; 18(5 SP 2):e194-e199. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Fischer et al. (N Engl J Med, 2004).]

Colla CH, Morden NE, Skinner JS, et al. Impact of payment reform on chemotherapy at the end of life. Am J Manag Care 2012 May; 18(5 SP 2):e200-e208. [Cites AHRQ-funded articles by Jacobson et al. (Health Aff, 2006) and Iezzoni et al. (Health Serv Res, 1994).]

Annals of Family Medicine
In this issue: from communities of solution to joy. Ann Fam Med 2012 May-Jun; 10(3):194-195. [Comments on articles by Margolius et al., Alshamsan et al., The Folsom Group, and Mold cited below in this section, and article by Crosson et al. (Ann Fam Med, 2012) cited in Evidence-based Practice Centers-Related Articles.]

Margolius D, Bodenheimer T, Bennett H, et al. Health coaching to improve hypertension treatment in a low-income, minority population. Ann Fam Med 2012 May-Jun; 10(3):199-205. [Cites AHRQ-funded articles by Hyre et al. (J Clin Hypertens, 2007), Okonofua et al. (Hypertension, 2006), Schillinger et al. (Arch Intern Med, 2003), and others.] Select to access the abstract.

Alshamsan R, Lee JT, Majeed A, et al. Effect of a UK pay-for-performance program on ethnic disparities in diabetes outcomes: interrupted time series analysis. Ann Fam Med 2012 May-Jun;10(3):228-34. [Cites AHRQ-authored article by Ho, Moy, and Clancy (former and current researchers in AHRQ's Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, and AHRQ director, respectively) (Health Serv Res, 2010) on AHRQ's 2008 National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR)/National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR); cites AHRQ-funded article by Werner, Asch, and Polsky (Circulation, 2005).] Select to access the abstract.

The Folsom Group. Communities of solution: the Folsom report revisited. Ann Fam Med 2012 May-Jun; 10(3):250-60 [Mentions AHRQ involvement in efforts to "build the infrastructure and utility of electronic clinical and community data"; cites AHRQ-funded articles by Macinko, Starfield, and Shi (Health Serv Res, 2003).] Select to access the abstract.

Mold JW. An update from the Committee for the Advancement of the Science of Family Medicine. Ann Fam Med 2012 May-Jun; 10(3):271-2. [Mentions AHRQ's award of a grant to the Northern American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCPG) to hold a conference for practice-based research networks and AHRQ's practice facilitation manual emphasizing implementation of the patient-centered medical home.]

Archives of Internal Medicine
Carratalà J, Garcia-Vidal C, Ortega L, et al. Effect of a 3-step critical pathway to reduce duration of intravenous antibiotic therapy and length of stay in community-acquired pneumonia: a randomized controlled trial. Arch Intern Med 2012 May 21 [Epub ahead of print. Cites AHRQ-funded articles by Fine et al. (Am J Med, 2003 and 2000, and N Engl J Med, 1997), McCormick et al. (Am J Med, 1999), and Halm et al. (Arch Intern Med, 2002, and JAMA, 1998).]

Archives of Surgery
Farmer DL. NSQIP lite: a potential tool for global comparative effectiveness evaluations. Arch Surg 2012 May 21 [Epub ahead of print. Comments on article by Anderson et al. (Arch Surg, 2012) cited in AHRQ-Funded/Authored Articles.]

Clinics in Geriatric Medicine
Hovstadius B, Petersson G. Factors leading to excessive polypharmacy. Clin Geriatr Med 2012 May; 28(2):159-72. [Cites AHRQ-funded articles by Qato et al. (JAMA, 2008) and Hanlon et al. (J Am Geriatr Soc, 2001).] Select to access the abstract.

Ruberu RP, Fitzgerald SP. Clinical practice guidelines for chronic diseases—understanding and managing their contribution to polypharmacy. Clin Geriatr Med 2012 May; 28(2):187-98. [Cites AHRQ publication, Research in Action: Preventing Disability in the Elderly With Chronic Disease, 2002, as published on the AHRQ Web site; cites AHRQ-funded articles by Briesacher, Gurwitz, and Soumerai (J Gen Intern Med, 2007) and Curtis et al. (Arch Intern Med, 2004).]

Tamura BK, Bell CL, Inaba M, et al. Outcomes of polypharmacy in nursing home residents. Clin Geriatr Med 2012 May; 28(2):217-36. [Cites AHRQ-funded articles by Hanlon et al. (J Am Geriatr Soc, 2001, Intrator, Castle, and Mor (Med Care, 1999), Jha et al. (J Am Med Inform Assoc, 1998), and others.) Select to access the abstract.

Tjia J, Givens J. Ethical framework for medication discontinuation in nursing home residents with limited life expectancy. Clin Geriatr Med 2012 May; 28(2):255-72. [Cites AHRQ-authored article by Lau, Kasper, and Potter (researcher in AHRQ's Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends) (Arch Intern Med, 2005); cites AHRQ-funded article by Gurwitz et al. (Am J Med, 2005).] Select to access the abstract.

Marcum ZA, Gellad WF. Medication adherence to multidrug regimens. Clin Geriatr Med 2012 May; 28(2):287-300. [Cites AHRQ-funded articles by Gellad, Grenard, and Marcum (Am J Geriatr Pharmacother, 2011), Qato et al. (JAMA, 2008), Soumerai et al. (Arch Intern Med, 2006), and others.] Select to access the abstract.

Clyne B, Bradley MC, Hughes C, et al. Electronic prescribing and other forms of technology to reduce inappropriate medication use and polypharmacy in older people: a review of current evidence. Clin Geriatr Med 2012 May; 28(2):301-22. [Cites AHRQ-sponsored publication, Findings From The Evaluation of E-Prescribing Pilot Sites, 2007, prepared by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago; cites AHRQ-authored article by Lau, Kasper, and Potter (Senior Survey Statistician in AHRQ's Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends) (Arch Intern Med, 2005); cites AHRQ-funded articles by Weber et al. (J Gen Intern Med, 2008), Spinewine et al. (Lancet, 2007), Raebel et al. (J Am Med Inform Assoc, 2007), and others.] Select to access the abstract.

Gokula M, Holmes HM. Tools to reduce polypharmacy. Clin Geriatr Med 2012 May; 28(2):323-41. [Cites AHRQ-funded articles by Marcum et al. (J Am Geriatr Soc, 2012, and Am J Geriatr Pharmacother, 2010), Qato et al. (JAMA, 2008), Weiner et al. (Health Serv Res, 2006), and others.] Select to access the abstract.

Industrial Safety and Hygiene News
Andrews J, Kirby N. Why risk losing an eye? "Because I didn't want to look like a geek wearing glasses." Ind Saf Hyg News 2012 May; 46(5):42-3. [Cites AHRQ publication, Emergency Department Visits Related to Eye Injuries, 2008, HCUP Statistical Brief 112, 2011.]

JAMA
Parry G, Cline A, Goldmann D. Deciphering harm measurement. JAMA 2012 May 23; 307(20):2155-6. [Discusses AHRQ's Patient Safety Indicators and efforts to redesign the Medicare Patient Safety Monitoring System for the Partnerships for Patients (P4P) program, citing AHRQ-authored article by Metersky, Hunt, Kilman, Wang, Curry, Verzier, Luder, and Moy (current researcher in AHRQ's Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety) (Med Care, 2011) and AHRQ Quality Indicators™ Toolkit for Hospitals, 2012, as published on the AHRQ Web site.]

K�pke S, M�hlhauser I, Gerlach A, et al. Effect of a guideline-based multicomponent intervention on use of physical restraints in nursing homes: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 2012 May 23; 307(20):2177-84. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Engberg, Castle, and McCaffrey (Gerontologist, 2008).] Select to access the abstract.

Hung WW, Egol KA, Zuckerman JD, et al. Hip fracture management: tailoring care for the older patient. JAMA 2012 May 23; 307(20):2185-94. [Cites Guideline Synthesis: Prevention of Pressure Ulcers as published on AHRQ's National Guideline Clearinghouse™ Web site; lists AHRQ's Effective Health Care Program Web site under "eResources: General Resources."] Select to access the abstract.

Medical Economics
Latest research. Med Econ 2012 May 25; 89(10):68. [Summarizes article by Jha et al. (N Engl J Med, 2012), which uses AHRQ's Elixhauser comorbidity measures (Elixhauser et al., Med Care, 1998).]

Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety
Dore DD, Liang C, Ziyadeh N, et al. Linkage of routinely collected oncology clinical data with health insurance claims data—an example with aromatase inhibitors, tamoxifen, and all-cause mortality. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 2012 May; 21 Suppl 2:29-36. [Cites AHRQ-funded articles by Schneeweiss (Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf, 2006) and Ray (Am J Epidemiol, 2003).] Select to access the abstract.

Paxton EW, Ake CF, Inacio MC, Khatod M, Marinac-Dabic D, Sedrakyan A. Evaluation of total hip arthroplasty devices using a total joint replacement registry. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 2012 May; 21 Suppl 2:53-9. [Last author is former AHRQ researcher; cites AHRQ-authored article by Sedrakyan et al. (Med Care, 2010); cites AHRQ-funded articles by Elliott et al. (Health Serv Outcomes Res Methodol, 2009, and Health Serv Res, 2008).] Select to access the abstract.

Yu M, Xie D, Wang X, et al. Prior event rate ratio adjustment: numerical studies of a statistical method to address unrecognized confounding in observational studies. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 2012 May; 21 Suppl 2:60-8. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Rassen et al. (J Clin Epidemiol, 2009).] Select to access the abstract.

Cai B, Hennessy S, Flory JH, et al. Simulation study of instrumental variable approaches with an application to a study of the antidiabetic effect of bezafibrate. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 2012 May; 21 Suppl 2:114-20. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Brookhart and Schneeweiss (Int J Biostat, 2007) and Wang et al. (N Engl J Med, 2005).] Select to access the abstract.

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)/Put Prevention Into Practice (PPIP)-Related Articles

American Journal of Managed Care
Wang G, Kuppermann M, Kim B, et al. Influence of patient preferences on the cost-effectiveness
of screening for Lynch syndrome. Am J Manag Care 2012 May; 18(5 SP 2):e179-e185. [Cites USPSTF recommendations on screening for colorectal cancer (Ann Intern Med, 2008); lists in "Table References" AHRQ Evidence Report/Technology Assessment, Hereditary Nonpolyposis Colorectal Cancer: Diagnostic Strategies and Their Implications, 2007, USPSTF recommendation statement Screening for Colorectal Cancer, 2008 (as published on the USPSTF Web site), associated targeted, updated systematic review by Whitlock et al. (Ann Intern Med, 2008), and earlier systematic review by Pignone et al. (Ann Intern Med, 2002).]

Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine
Dumont IP, Olson AL. Primary care, depression, and anxiety: exploring somatic and emotional predictors of mental health status in adolescents. J Am Board Fam Med 2012 May; 25(3):291-9. [Cites USPSTF-sponsored systematic evidence review on screening for child and adolescent depression in primary care settings (Pediatrics, 2009).] Select to access the abstract.

Wilkins T, Gillies RA, Harbuck S, et al. Racial disparities and barriers to colorectal cancer screening in rural areas. J Am Board Fam Med 2012 May; 25(3):308-17. [Cites USPSTF-sponsored evidence summary on screening for colorectal cancer in adults at average risk (Ann Intern Med, 2002).] Select to access the abstract.

Sadowsky CH, Galvin JE. Guidelines for the management of cognitive and behavioral problems in dementia. J Am Board Fam Med 2012 May; 25(3):350-66. [Cites USPSTF-sponsored evidence summary on screening for dementia in primary care (Ann Intern Med, 2003).] Select to access the abstract.

Galvin JE, Sadowsky CH. Practical guidelines for the recognition and diagnosis of dementia. J Am Board Fam Med 2012 May; 25(3):367-82. [Cites USPSTF-sponsored evidence summary on screening for dementia in primary care (Ann Intern Med, 2003).] Select to access the abstract.

Lee SH, Cheong YS. Successful endoscopic repair of an iatrogenic colonic perforation during diagnostic colonoscopy. J Am Board Fam Med 2012 May; 25(3):383-9. [Cites USPSTF-sponsored decision analysis on evaluating test strategies for colorectal cancer screening (Ann Intern Med, 2008).] Select to access the abstract.

New England Journal of Medicine
Ghorob A, Bodenheimer T. Sharing the care to improve access to primary care. N Engl J Med 2012 May 24; 366(21):1955-7. [Mentions updated 2009 USPSTF recommendations on screening for breast cancer.]

Pain Physician
Parr AT, Manchikanti L, Hameed H, et al. Caudal epidural injections in the management of chronic low back pain: a systematic appraisal of the literature. Pain Physician 2012 May; 15(3):E159-E198. [Uses AHRQ's National Guideline Clearinghouse— as a source for the literature review and uses USPSTF levels of evidence criteria to rate the quality of selected publications, citing USPSTF-sponsored article by Harris et al. (Am J Prev Med, 2001) on USPSTF methodologies; cites articles by Manchikanti et al. (Pain Physician, 2011) on AHRQ's Effective Health Care Program, and Manchikanti et al. (Pain Physician, 2010) on AHRQ's previous guideline activities.] Select to access the abstract.

Manchikanti L, Buenaventura RM, Manchikanti KN, et al. Effectiveness of therapeutic lumbar transforaminal epidural steroid injections in managing lumbar spinal pain. Pain Physician 2012 May; 15(3):E199-E245. [Uses AHRQ's National Guideline Clearinghouse— as a source for the literature review and uses USPSTF levels of evidence criteria to rate the quality of selected publications, citing USPSTF-sponsored article by Harris et al. (Am J Prev Med, 2001) on USPSTF methodologies; cites articles by Manchikanti et al. (Pain Physician, 2011) on AHRQ's Effective Health Care Program, and Manchikanti et al. (Pain Physician, 2010) on AHRQ's previous guideline activities.] Select to access the abstract.

Hansen H, Manchikanti L, Simopoulos TT, et al. A systematic evaluation of the therapeutic effectiveness of sacroiliac joint interventions. Pain Physician 2012 May; 15(3):E247-E278. [Uses AHRQ's National Guideline Clearinghouse— as a source for the literature review and uses USPSTF levels of evidence criteria to rate the quality of selected publications, citing USPSTF-sponsored article by Harris et al. (Am J Prev Med, 2001) on USPSTF methodologies.] Select to access the abstract.

Simopoulos TT, Manchikanti L, Singh V, et al. A systematic evaluation of prevalence and diagnostic accuracy of sacroiliac joint interventions. Pain Physician 2012 May; 15(3):E305-E344. [Uses AHRQ's National Guideline Clearinghouse— as a source for the literature review and uses USPSTF levels of evidence criteria to rate the quality of selected publications, citing USPSTF-sponsored article by Harris et al. (Am J Prev Med, 2001) on USPSTF methodologies.] Select to access the abstract.

Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety
Concato J. When to randomize, or 'Evidence-based medicine needs Medicine-based evidence'. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 2012 May; 21 Suppl 2:6-12. [Cites USPSTF-sponsored evidence update on the benefits and harms of prostate-specific antigen screening for prostate cancer (Ann Intern Med, 2008) and previous evidence update on screening for prostate cancer (Ann Intern Med, 2002); cites AHRQ-sponsored conference announcement, "Third Symposium on Comparative Effectiveness Research Methods: Methods for Developing and Analyzing Clinically Rich Data for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research," 2011, as published on AHRQ's Effective Health Care Program Web site. Also refer to AHRQ-funded articles by Norris et al. (PLoS One, 2012) cited in AHRQ-Funded/Authored Articles, and Shamliyan, Kane, and Jansen (J Clin Epidemiol, 2012) cited in Evidence-based Practice Centers-Related Articles.]

Evidence-based Practice Centers-Related Articles

Annals of Family Medicine
Crosson JC, Ohman-Strickland PA, Cohen DJ, et al. Typical electronic health record use in primary care practices and the quality of diabetes care. Ann Fam Med 2012 May-Jun; 10(3):221-7. [Cites AHRQ-funded systematic review by Chaudhry et al. (Ann Intern Med, 2006) on the impact of health information technology on quality, efficiency, and costs of medical care, prepared by the Southern California-University of California at San Francisco EPC; cites AHRQ-sponsored publication, Practice-Based Population Health: Information Technology to Support Transformation to Proactive Primary Care, 2010 (prepared for the AHRQ National Resource Center for Health Information Technology by the NORC at the University of Chicago under contract 290-04-0016).] Select to access the abstract.

Clinics in Geriatric Medicine
Gnjidic D, Le Couteur DG, Kouladjian L, et al. Deprescribing trials: methods to reduce polypharmacy and the impact on prescribing and clinical outcomes. Clin Geriatr Med 2012 May; 28(2):237-53. [Cites AHRQ-funded systematic review by Kaushal et al. (Arch Intern Med, 2003) on the effects of computerized physician order entry and clinical decision support systems on medication safety, prepared by the University of California San Francisco-Stanford EPC.] Select to access the abstract.

JAMA
Kapur VK, Weaver EM. Filling in the pieces of the sleep apnea-hypertension puzzle. JAMA 2012 May 23; 307(20):2197-8. [Cites AHRQ comparative effectiveness review, Diagnosis and Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Adults, 2011, prepared by the Tufts EPC under contract 290-2007-10055-1.]

Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
Shamliyan T, Kane RL, Jansen S. Systematic reviews synthesized evidence without consistent quality assessment of primary studies examining epidemiology of chronic diseases. J Clin Epidemiol 2012 Jun; 65(6):610-18. [Supported by contract 290-02-0009 (to the Minnesota EPC); notes use of the USPSTF quality assessment tool in selected studies, citing USPSTF-sponsored article by Harris et al. (Am J Prev Med, 2001) on USPSTF methodologies; cites AHRQ Evidence Report/Technology Assessment, Systems to Rate the Strength of Scientific Evidence, 2002; mentions AHRQ's support of initiatives to improve the quality of methods and reporting in biomedical research; cites AHRQ-authored articles by Clancy and Slutsky (AHRQ director and director in AHRQ's Center for Evidence and Outcomes, respectively) (Am J Med Qual, 2005, on AHRQ's Effective Health Care Program), Clancy, Slutsky, and Patton (Health Serv Res, 2004, on AHRQ's EPC and Technology Assessment programs and the USPSTF), and Atkins (former AHRQ researcher) et al. (BMC Health Serv Res, 2005 and 2004).] Select to access the abstract.

Chung M, Newberry SJ, Ansari MT, et al. Two methods provide similar signals for the need to update systematic reviews. J Clin Epidemiol 2012 Jun; 65(6):660-8. [Supported by AHRQ, grant information not given; discusses AHRQ's EPCs and Effective Health Care Program; acknowledges former AHRQ researcher Margaret Coopey; cites AHRQ evidence report/technology assessments Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Cognitive Function with Aging, Dementia, and Neurological Diseases, Summary, 2005, Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Cancer, Summary, 2005, and Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Intermediate Markers of Cardiovascular Disease, 2004; cites AHRQ-sponsored report Assessment of the Need to Update Comparative Effectiveness Reviews: Report of an Initial Rapid Program Assessment (2005-2009), 2009 (prepared by the Southern California EPC and published on AHRQ's Effective Health Care Program Web site); cites AHRQ-authored articles by Whitlock, Lopez, Chang (researcher in AHRQ's Center for Outcomes and Evidence) (J Clin Epidemiol, 2010); cites AHRQ-funded article by Shekelle et al. (JAMA, 2001) on the validity of AHRQ's clinical practice guidelines (prepared by the Southern California EPC/RAND under contract 290-97-0001); cites AHRQ-funded survival analysis by Shojania et al. (Ann Intern Med, 2007) on how quickly systematic reviews go out of date.] Select to access the abstract.

West Virginia Medical Journal
Schade CP, Bliziotes MT, Ruddick PB, et al. Using health information technology to advance preventive care in West Virginia. W V Med J 2012 May-Jun; 108(3):48-54. [Cites AHRQ Evidence Report/Technology Assessment, Costs and Benefits of Health Information Technology, 2006; cites AHRQ's NHQR, 2010; cites AHRQ publication, Health Information Technology for Improving Quality of Care in Primary Care Settings, 2007. Also refer to AHRQ-funded articles by Speroff et al. (J Hosp Med, 2012) and Schneeweiss, Seeger, and Smith (Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf, 2012) cited in AHRQ-Funded/Authored Articles, and articles by Wang et al. (Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf, 2012), Concato et al. (Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf, 2012) and Parr et al. (Pain Physician, 2012) all cited in U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)/Put Prevention Into Practice (PPIP)-Related Articles.]

Research by Others Using AHRQ Data or Products

American Journal of Surgery
Rea JD, Herzig DO, Diggs BS, et al. Use and outcomes of emergent laparoscopic resection for acute diverticulitis. Am J Surg 2012 May; 203(5):639-43. [Uses 2003-2007 HCUP NIS data and HCUP Cost-to-Charge Ratio Files, citing Introduction to the HCUP Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), 2007, 2009, and Cost-to-Charge Ratio Files: 2007 Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) User Guide, 2009 (both published on AHRQ's HCUP Web site), and AHRQ's Elixhauser comorbidity measures (Elixhauser et al., Med Care, 1998).] Select to access the abstract.

European Urology
Jungwirth A, Giwercman A, Tournaye H, et al. European Association of Urology guidelines on male infertility: the 2012 update. Eur Urol 2012 May 3 [Epub ahead of print. Notes that updated guidelines are available on AHRQ's National Guideline Clearinghouse— Guideline Clearinghouse— Web site.] Select to access the abstract.

Diseases of the Colon and Rectum
Fox J, Gross CP, Longo W, et al. Laparoscopic colectomy for the treatment of cancer has been widely adopted in the United States. Dis Colon Rectum 2012 May; 55(5):501-8. [Uses 2008-2009 HCUP NIS data, citing Overview of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), 2007-2009, as published on AHRQ's HCUP Web site, and AHRQ's Elixhauser comorbidity measures (Elixhauser et al., Med Care, 1998).] Select to access the abstract.

Journal of the American Dental Association
Vujicic M, Lazar V, Wall TP, et al. An analysis of dentists' incomes, 1996-2009. J Am Dent Assoc 2012 May; 143(5):452-60. [Uses 1996-2009 MEPS Household Component (MEPS-HC) data, citing Download Data Files, Documentation, and Codebooks, 2010, and AHRQ publication, Sample Design of the 1997 MEPS Household Component, MEPS Methodology Report 11, 2000, both published on AHRQ's MEPS Web site.] Select to access the abstract.

Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation
Law SP, Kim JJ, Decker JA, et al. Hospital charges for pediatric heart transplant hospitalizations in the United States from 1997 to 2006. J Heart Lung Transplant 2012 May; 31(5):485-91. [Uses 1997, 2000, 2003, and 2006 HCUP KID data, citing Overview of the Kids' Inpatient Database (KID), 2008 and 2009, as published on AHRQ's HCUP Web site.] Select to access the abstract.

Journal of Palliative Medicine
Lin RY, Levine RJ, Scanlon BC. Evolution of end-of-life care at United States hospitals in the new millennium. J Palliat Med 2012 May; 15(5):592-601. [Uses 2000-2009 HCUP NIS data, citing Overview of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), 2011, as published on AHRQ's HCUP Web site.] Select to access the abstract.

Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery
Vegini JB, Steglich V, Bonilauri Ferreira AP, et al. Do insurance and race represent independent predictors of undergoing total shoulder arthroplasty? A secondary data analysis of 3529 patients. J Shoulder Elbow Surg 2012 May; 21(5):661-6. [Uses 1998-2007 HCUP NIS data, citing Overview of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), 1998, including NIS Data Documentation, and AHRQ publication, Final 2000 NIS Comparison Report, HCUP Methods Series Report, 2003-1, 2003, as published on AHRQ'S HCUP Web site; uses the AHRQ-funded adaptation of the Charlson comorbidity index described in AHRQ-funded article by Deyo, Cherkin, and Ciol (J Clin Epidemiol, 1992).] Select to access the abstract.

Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety
Lagu T, Rothberg MB, Nathanson BH, et al. Incorporating initial treatments improves performance of a mortality prediction model for patients with sepsis. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 2012 May; 21 Suppl 2:44-52. [Uses 25 comorbid conditions identified using the software provided by" AHRQ's HCUP, citing AHRQ's Elixhauser comorbidity measures (Elixhauser et al., Med Care, 1998); cites AHRQ-authored articles by Pine, Jordan, Elixhauser (researcher in AHRQ's Center for Delivery, Organization, and Markets) et al. (Med Decis Making, 2009, and JAMA, 2007).] Select to access the abstract.

Glynn RJ, Gagne JJ, Schneeweiss S. Role of disease risk scores in comparative effectiveness research with emerging therapies. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 2012 May; 21 Suppl 2:138-47. [Uses AHRQ's Elixhauser comorbidity measures (Elixhauser et al., Med Care, 1998); notes that third author is principal investigator of the AHRQ-supported Brigham and Women's Hospital DEcIDE Center on Comparative Effectiveness Research and the DEcIDE Methods Center.] Select to access the abstract.

Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da U S P
Fonseca C, Franco T, Ramos A, et al. [The individual with leg ulcer and structured nursing care intervention: a systematic literature review]. Rev Esc Enferm USP 2012 Apr; 46(2):480-6. [Uses AHRQ's National Guideline Clearinghouse— to identify applicable guidelines; article is in Portuguese.] Select to access the abstract.

Seminars in Vascular Surgery
Hertzer NR. Reasons why data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample can be misleading for carotid endarterectomy and carotid stenting. Semin Vasc Surg 2012 Mar; 25(1):13-17. [Describes and uses HCUP NIS data, citing Overview of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) as published on AHRQ's HCUP Web site; updates author's earlier article on the same subject (J Vasc Surg, 2012). Also refer to AHRQ-funded article by Kozower and Stukenborg (Ann Thorac Surg, 2012), Skolarus et al. (Neurology, 2012), and Norris et al. (PLoS One, 2012) cited in AHRQ-Funded/Authored Articles, and articles by Parr et al. (Pain Physician, 2012), Manchikanti et al. (Pain Physician, 2012), Hansen et al. (Pain Physician, 2012), and Simopoulos et al. (Pain Physician, 2012) cited in U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)/Put Prevention Into Practice (PPIP)-Related Articles.] Select to access the abstract.